PHOENIX (LAWFUEL) – Sacramento Velasquez-Morales, 55, of Cordova, Veracruz, Mexico, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Roslyn O. Silver to a total of 91 months in prison. Velasquez-Morales pleaded guilty on November 21, 2008 to a single-count indictment charging him with Illegal Re-entry After Prior Deportation. On that same date, Velasquez-Morales also admitted to a violation of the terms of supervised release placed on him as a result of a prior conviction for Illegal Re-entry After Prior Deportation in 2004. Velasquez-Morales was sentenced to 71 months in prison on the new offense, to run consecutively with an additional 20 months for having violated the terms of his supervised release.
Velasquez-Morales had been deported from the United States to Mexico through San Ysidro, Calif., on July 15, 2008 and was caught in the U.S. again on August 6, 2008. His immigration history includes five prior convictions for Illegal Re-entry After Prior Deportation, including in 2004, when he was sentenced to 63 months in prison. Prior to being caught in August 2008, Velasquez-Morales had been deported from the United States to Mexico on 12 occasions.
Velasquez-Morales’ significant prior criminal history also includes a July 2002 Calif. conviction for Petty Theft with Prior Jail Term – 16 months’ imprisonment; an August 2000 Calif. conviction for Petty Theft with Prior Jail Term – 16 months’ imprisonment; an April 1994 Calif. conviction for Battery – 6 months’ imprisonment; a February 1994 Calif. conviction for Petty theft with Prior Jail Term – 6 months’ imprisonment; a July 1990 Washington conviction for Possession of Heroin – 12 months’ imprisonment; and an April 1987 Washington conviction for Delivery of Heroin – 15 months’ imprisonment. His criminal history was a significant factor in the sentence imposed by the judge.
The investigation in this case was conducted by U.S. Border Patrol. The prosecution was handled by Brent Landis, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
CASE NUMBER: CR-08-1103-PHX-ROS and CR-04-0590-PHX-ROS
RELEASE NUMBER: 2009-045(Velasquez-Morales)
