ALBUQUERQUE – A previously deported felon from Mexico was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 120 months in federal prison for his conviction for unlawfully reentering the United States. He will be deported after completing his prison sentence.
Roman Enrique Delgado-Montoya, 54, of Veracruz, Mexico, was charged on June 2, 2014, in a criminal complaint with illegally reentering the United States after having been convicted of an aggravated felony. Delgado-Montoya had previously been deported from the United States on Feb. 10, 2014, after he was convicted in Sept. 2009, of Arson in Calif.
Delgado-Montoya was subsequently indicted on Jan. 14, 2015, and charged with unlawful reentry into the United States. Delgado-Montoya committed the offense in Sunland Park, Doña Ana County, N.M. On May 22, 2015, Delgado-Montoya pled guilty to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement.
Court proceedings revealed that, over the years, Delgado-Montoya has used at least 39 aliases and has at least 17 prior criminal convictions. He also has been arrested on at least 20 other occasions in cases which have either been dismissed or for which there is no information as to disposition. Delgado-Montoya’s prior convictions include vehicle theft, tampering with a vehicle, multiple burglaries, receiving stolen property, possession of burglary tools, cocaine distribution, possession of narcotics, falsely claiming U.S. citizenship, vehicle theft, being an aggravated felon receiving stolen property, arson and illegal entry into the United States.
This case was investigated by the Doña Ana station of the U.S. Border Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brock Taylor, Edwin Garreth Winstead, III, and Luis A. Martinez of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office prosecuted the case as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible. Because New Mexico’s violent crime rates, on a per capita basis, are amongst the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community is collaborating to target repeat offenders from counties with the highest violent crime rates under this initiative.