A federal grand jury has indicted a Mexican national on multiple charges, including illegal reentry, drug trafficking, and assaulting a federal officer, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio. Jose Adin Benjume-Gutierrez, 45, is facing potential prison time if convicted on these charges.
The indictment, which was unsealed this morning, details the assault on a special agent from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) that occurred on Feb. 3. During April, Benjume-Gutierrez is alleged to have distributed cocaine while having been deported from the United States twice before, in 2011 and 2016. Distributed cocaine by the defendant is alleged to have taken place in April.
Potential penalties for the alleged crimes include up to 20 years for both assaulting a federal officer and distributing cocaine, while the illegal reentry could carry a sentence of up to two years. A coalition that includes Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jared Murphey, acting Special Agent in Charge of ICE HSI Detroit; Robert Lynch, Field Office Director for ICE ERO Detroit Field Office; and Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin, announced the charges.
Assistant United States Attorney Tyler J. Aagard is representing the U.S. government in this case. The U.S. Attorney's Office made no further comments regarding the upcoming legal process or court dates.
