United States of America v. Cecilio Gonzalez-Espino

Memphis, Tennessee illegal reentry criminal defense lawyer represented Defendant, Cecilio Gonzalez-Espino, 31, was charged with unlawful reentry into the United States and for illegally possessing a firearm.



On August 11, 2020, in Memphis, agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement located the defendant with a loaded firearm in his vehicle. On August 20, 2020 Gonzalez-Espino was indicted for being an alien in possession of a firearm and illegally reentering the United States after removal.



Gonzalez-Espino is a convicted felon, having previously been convicted of multiple felony methamphetamine charges in 2011 in California. As a result of his prior conviction and alien status, he is prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition.



"HSI works to keep our communities safe by removing violent criminals and deadly weapons from our streets," said Jerry C. Templet, Jr, special agent in charge, HSI Nashville.



On June 2, 2021, U.S. District Judge Mark Norris sentenced Gonzalez-Espino to 30 months imprisonment to be followed by three years' supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. He also faces deportation after completion of his sentence of confinement.



This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).



Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Smith prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.



8:1326A.F, REENTRY OF DEPORTED ALIENS

(1)



(a) In general



Subject to subsection (b), any alien who—



(1) has been denied admission, excluded, deported, or removed or has departed the United States while an order of exclusion, deportation, or removal is outstanding, and thereafter



(2) enters, attempts to enter, or is at any time found in, the United States, unless (A) prior to his reembarkation at a place outside the United States or his application for admission from foreign contiguous territory, the Attorney General has expressly consented to such alien's reapplying for admission; or (B) with respect to an alien previously denied admission and removed, unless such alien shall establish that he was not required to obtain such advance consent under this chapter or any prior Act,



shall be fined under title 18, or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.

(b) Criminal penalties for reentry of certain removed aliens



Notwithstanding subsection (a), in the case of any alien described in such subsection—



(1) whose removal was subsequent to a conviction for commission of three or more misdemeanors involving drugs, crimes against the person, or both, or a felony (other than an aggravated felony), such alien shall be fined under title 18, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both;



(2) whose removal was subsequent to a conviction for commission of an aggravated felony, such alien shall be fined under such title, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both;



(3) who has been excluded from the United States pursuant to section 1225(c) of this title because the alien was excludable under section 1182(a)(3)(B) of this title or who has been removed from the United States pursuant to the provisions of subchapter V, and who thereafter, without the permission of the Attorney General, enters the United States, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under title 18 and imprisoned for a period of 10 years, which sentence shall not run concurrently with any other sentence.1 or



(4) who was removed from the United States pursuant to section 1231(a)(4)(B) of this title who thereafter, without the permission of the Attorney General, enters, attempts to enter, or is at any time found in, the United States (unless the Attorney General has expressly consented to such alien's reentry) shall be fined under title 18, imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both.



For the purposes of this subsection, the term "removal" includes any agreement in which an alien stipulates to removal during (or not during) a criminal trial under either Federal or State law.

(c) Reentry of alien deported prior to completion of term of imprisonment



Any alien deported pursuant to section 1252(h)(2) 2 of this title who enters, attempts to enter, or is at any time found in, the United States (unless the Attorney General has expressly consented to such alien's reentry) shall be incarcerated for the remainder of the sentence of imprisonment which was pending at the time of deportation without any reduction for parole or supervised release. Such alien shall be subject to such other penalties relating to the reentry of deported aliens as may be available under this section or any other provision of law.

(d) Limitation on collateral attack on underlying deportation order



In a criminal proceeding under this section, an alien may not challenge the validity of the deportation order described in subsection (a)(1) or subsection (b) unless the alien demonstrates that—



(1) the alien exhausted any administrative remedies that may have been available to seek relief against the order;



(2) the deportation proceedings at which the order was issued improperly deprived the alien of the opportunity for judicial review; and



(3) the entry of the order was fundamentally unfair.



18:922G.F, UNLAWFUL TRANSPORT OF FIREARMS, ETC.

(2)

Defendant was sentenced to 30 months in prison.