Evergreen Reporter

U.S. District Judge Richard A. Lazzara has sentenced Ramon Ochoa, a 43-year-old Mexican national, to 18 months in federal prison for illegally reentering the United States after deportation. This sentence will run consecutively to another sentence Ochoa is currently serving in the Florida Department of Corrections. Ochoa entered a guilty plea on July 8, 2024.

Court documents reveal that Ochoa first entered the United States illegally in 2008 and again in 2014. He was deported both times, with the most recent removal occurring in May 2014. Despite this, he reentered the country without permission from government officials in 2017 and remained until his arrest in Polk County in May 2019.

United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials discovered that Ochoa was being held at the Polk County Jail under the alias Samuel Santana-Ortuno on charges of trafficking methamphetamine. During questioning by a Border Patrol agent, Ochoa confirmed his real identity as Ramon Ochoa and admitted lacking documentation to enter the United States legally.

Following his arrest, Ochoa received a seven-year state prison sentence for drug trafficking offenses. Judge Lazzara's ruling ensures that his federal sentence will be served after completing his state imprisonment term.

The investigation leading to these proceedings was conducted by United States Customs and Border Protection and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Sinacore.