PENSACOLA — Nine illegal aliens were convicted of federal immigration crimes in the Northern District of Florida in May, U.S. Attorney John P. Heekin announced, including multiple offenders who had been deported as many as three times before illegally re-entering the country.
“These criminal aliens tried to lie, cheat, and steal their way into our country, but thanks to my office’s commitment to aggressively prosecuting all criminal offenders and the strong partnerships we have with our state and federal law enforcement agencies, they are being held accountable for willfully - and often repeatedly - violating our immigration laws,” Heekin said.
Eight of the nine were convicted of illegal reentry by a removed alien. The most prolific repeat offender, Rodolfo Garcia Martinez, 38, of Guatemala, had been previously removed three times — in February 2009, May 2014 and May 2017 — before being encountered in Escambia County. Garcia Martinez was also convicted of false document crimes, making him one of two illegal aliens convicted on that charge. Santos Gomez-Diaz, 41, of Mexico, had been removed twice — in November 2013 and November 2017 — before being encountered in Walton County.
The convictions spanned at least six North Florida counties. Edwin Rodriguez-Gonzalez, 31, of El Salvador, previously removed in July 2019, was encountered in Gadsden County. Ricardo Castrejon Lucatero, 31, of Mexico, previously removed in April 2018, was encountered in Santa Rosa County. Anibal Murcia-Barrera, 27, of Honduras, previously removed in August 2017, and Simon Mateo-Simon, 36, of Mexico, previously removed in December 2015, were both encountered in Okaloosa County. Noe Alexis Lopez Suarez, 27, of Mexico, previously removed in November 2022, was encountered in Santa Rosa County. Deyzon Altamirano Pineda, 21, of Mexico, previously removed in February 2024, was encountered in Taylor County. Luis Armando Lopez Lopez, 27, of Guatemala, was convicted of false document crimes.
The cases were investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations with assistance from the Florida Highway Patrol, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, Naval Air Station Pensacola Police, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, the Gulf Breeze Police Department and the Perry Police Department. Six Assistant United States Attorneys — James A. McCain, Thomas S.P. Geeker, Brooke Lindsay, Jessica S. Etherton, Jeffrey M. Tharp and Eric Welch — prosecuted the cases.
“These successful prosecutions were made possible thanks to the Department of Justice’s commitment to the rule of law under Operation Take Back America, and my office will continue to deliver the safe, crime-free streets our citizens deserve,” Heekin said. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide initiative marshaling the full resources of the Department of Justice to combat illegal immigration and eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
The Northern District of Florida, which stretches from Pensacola to Tallahassee, is one of 94 U.S. Attorney’s offices nationwide. Sentencing dates for the nine defendants have not yet been announced.