Mexican National Ordered To Serve A Consecutive Prison Sentence For Reentering The United States Illegally

Tampa, Florida - U.S. District Judge Richard A. Lazzara has sentenced Ramon Ochoa (43, Mexico) to 18 months in federal prison, consecutive to another sentence Ochoa is serving in the Florida Department of Corrections, for illegal reentry into the United States after deportation. Ramon Ochoa entered a guilty plea on July 8, 2024.

According to court documents, Ochoa is a Mexican citizen who entered the United States illegally in 2008 and again in 2014. He was removed from the United States on both occasions, most recently in May 2014. In 2017, Ochoa again entered the United States without permission from appropriate government officials, and he remained here until he was arrested in Polk County in May 2019. United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials were alerted to the fact that Ochoa was in custody in the Polk County Jail under the name Samuel Santana-Ortuno and was charged with trafficking in methamphetamine. Ochoa admitted to a Border Patrol agent that his true name is Ramon Ochoa and he did not have any documents allowing him to enter the United States.

Ochoa was later sentenced in state court to seven years' imprisonment for his state drug-trafficking offense. Judge Lazzara ordered that his 18-month federal sentence be served consecutive to his state prison sentence.

This case was investigated by United States Customs and Border Protection. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Sinacore.