Dominican national residing in Massachusetts sentenced for illegal reentry

A Dominican national was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for illegally reentering the United States after being deported.

Yancarlos Mejia Gonzales, 31, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Mejia Gonzales will be subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence. In April 2019, Mejia Gonzales pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien.

Between 2007 and 2008, Mejia Gonzales was arrested and convicted on three separate drug distribution matters. Following his convictions, Mejia Gonzales was ordered removed, and on Jan. 12, 2011, he was deported to the Dominican Republic. Sometime thereafter, Mejia Gonzales reentered the United States and was arrested in 2013 during the execution of a state search warrant. Mejia Gonzales was subsequently convicted in federal court in Boston of illegally reentering the United States after being deported and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. After completing his sentence, Mejia Gonzales was deported on Aug. 17, 2016. In January 2019, he was encountered by law enforcement in Massachusetts and determined again to be illegally present in the United States.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Charles D. Marcos, Acting Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations; and Boston Police Commissioner William Gross made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.