The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio has announced new immigration charges against four individuals in separate cases. The defendants face various charges related to illegal reentry and possession of firearms.
Alberto Caiceros-Cruz, a 40-year-old Mexican national, was arrested after being observed driving a vehicle without registration in Columbus. He had previously been removed from the United States in 2022.
A federal grand jury in Columbus indicted an El Salvadoran national for illegally reentering the country after being convicted of sex offenses, and a Honduran national for illegal possession of firearms.
Carlos Gonzales-Hernandez, aged 55, was detained following a traffic stop in Madison County. After serving a prison sentence for sex offenses, he was transferred into ICE custody. His prior convictions include three counts of gross sexual imposition in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.
Elmer Edison Rodriguez-Guzman, 46, was stopped by law enforcement in Cambridge, Ohio, for having no taillights on his vehicle. Officials discovered firearms and ammunition during the stop. He was subsequently taken into federal custody.
Pedro Marquez, also known as Peter Marquez and several other aliases, was indicted by a federal grand jury on Thursday. In 2011, he was convicted of participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy involving methamphetamine and illegally reentering the United States. Following his imprisonment and removal from the country in 2016, Marquez was found and arrested again on February 13 in Bloomingburg, Ohio.
According to U.S. law, illegally reentering the United States can result in up to two years in prison. The penalty increases to ten years if there is a prior felony conviction or multiple misdemeanor convictions of certain types. If previously convicted of an aggravated felony, the sentence can extend up to twenty years.
The announcement came from Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jared Murphey, acting Special Agent in Charge at ICE's Homeland Security Investigations Detroit; and Robert Lynch, Field Office Director at ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Detroit Field Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Tyler J. Aagard, Sheila G. Lafferty, and David J. Twombly are handling these cases.
It is important to note that indictments and criminal complaints contain allegations only; defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
These prosecutions are part of efforts by the Southern District of Ohio Immigration Enforcement Task Force to address immigration violations with dedicated resources.