Elias Jimenez-Lopez of Chambersburg faces charge for illegally re-entering the country

Man pleaded guilty to DUI last week

By Denise Bonura
The Record Herald
Posted Mar 25, 2011 @ 04:05 PM


A Chambersburg man who was deported to his native Guatemala in June 2006 and reportedly led police on a chase through downtown Chambersburg in January, has been charged for illegally re-entering the country.

Elias Jimenez-Lopez of 177 E. Washington St., Chambersburg, was charged Wednesday for illegally re-entering the country, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Jimenez-Lopez was deported in June 2006 after a previous arrest. Court records indicate Jimenez-Lopez is 18.

If convicted, Jimenez-Lopez faces up to two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and are being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian G. McDonnell.

Chambersburg arrest

Jimenez-Lopez was arrested on Jan. 16, 2011, after reportedly hitting a parked car on High Street in Chambersburg and leaving the scene around 7:30 p.m. A witness described the vehicle and police later spotted a 1996 Chevrolet Cavalier traveling in the wrong direction on Main Street, according to a news release from Chambersburg police.

Police said Jimenez-Lopez continued driving in the wrong direction as oncoming traffic swerved to miss him. He then hit a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation sign and backed into a police cruiser before continuing to flee police. He eventually crashed the car into a fence on Scotland Avenue owned by CenturyLink.

Jimenez-Lopez was taken to Chambersburg Hospital, where officers learned he had a “critical blood alcohol content level.â€