A Honduran national found guilty of repeatedly entering the U.S. illegally, including after a conviction for assaulting a law enforcement officer, has been sentenced to a 70-month stint in federal prison. U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei's office announced the sentencing of 34-year-old Jose Leon Cruz-Lanza, who had previously pleaded guilty on April 7, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
It was U.S. District Judge Charles R. Eskridge who handed down the sentence to Cruz-Lanza, who is not a U.S. citizen and is expected to face another removal from the country after his time behind bars. Cruz-Lanza's initial deportation from the United States occurred in 2017, but that proved to not be an end to his presence within the country's borders. Following a second conviction for illegal reentry and subsequent removal, authorities discovered him in The Woodlands, Texas, in May 2022—this time after he had assaulted two members of law enforcement, a fact detailed in the U.S. Attorney's Office release.
As he awaits transfer to an as-of-yet undetermined Federal Bureau of Prisons facility, Cruz-Lanza remains in custody. The case against him was conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations, with U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Weinhold and Amanda Alum leading the prosecution efforts, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office.
