BEAUMONT, Texas – A Mexican national has pleaded guilty after being found in the United States illegally following his removal in 2015 and twice again in 2022, announced Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, Abe McGlothin, Jr.
Heladio Ruchon Rocha-Tellez, 31, pleaded guilty to illegal reentry after removal and was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on Tuesday.
Recommended Videos
READ: Mexico deploys the first of 10,000 National Guard troops to US border after Trump’s tariff threat
According to information presented in court, on Dec. 19, 2023, local law enforcement responded to a burglary in progress at a laundromat in Beaumont.Upon arrival, officers found Rocha-Tellez hiding behind the counter with a large amount of cash protruding from his pocket.
A check of immigration records revealed that Rocha-Tellez is a Mexican national who had been previously removed from the United States in 2015 and twice in 2022.
In addition to the immigration charges, Rocha-Tellez was convicted of a state burglary charge in Jefferson County and sentenced to 12 months in prison on Nov. 19, 2024.
Judge Crone ordered the federal sentence to run consecutively, meaning Rocha-Tellez will begin serving his 16-month federal sentence after completing his state sentence.