Mexican man sentenced to prison for illegally entering country 20 times


By JOSH NELSON
Posted: Wednesday, December 29, 2010 5:47 am | (4) Comments

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa --- A 31-year-old Mexican man was sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison for illegally entering the country 20 times.

Lucas Castaneda-Romero, 31, was handed the sentence on Dec. 23 in U.S. District Court after his latest arrest in Black Hawk County for fifth-degree theft and harassment of a public official in June. At the time, Castaneda-Romero told Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents he was in the country illegally, said the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa.

Castaneda-Romero had been removed from the country on Dec. 31, 2007. He had also been deported three other times prior to that between May 31, 2000 and March 4, 2005 and informally deported 16 other times, the attorney's office said.

Castaneda-Romero was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Houston before his 2007 deportation, the attorney's office said.

District Court Chief Judge Linda Reade sentenced Castaneda-Romero to 87 months in prison, imposed a special $100 assessment and said he must be on a three-year period of supervised release after imprisonment. He is also subject to removal after his term is up.

Castaneda-Romero is being held in the U.S. Marshal's custody until he is transported to a federal facility.

http://wcfcourier.com