Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, the immigrant at the heart of a case that led to the arrest of Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan, has been sentenced to time served for the federal charge of illegal reentry into the United States. As reported by FOX 11 Online, U.S. District Judge Pamela Pepper handed down the sentence on Wednesday.
During the sentencing, Judge Pepper expressed her hope that Flores-Ruiz would find means to make a living in his home country, saying, "I very much hope you can find a way to make a living back home rather than coming back here." Flores-Ruiz, through a translator, apologized for his illegal entry into the country and assured that he would not return, a sentiment captured in FOX 6 Now. He had already spent nearly seven months in jail following his arrest in April.
According to the details shared by FOX 6 Now, the charges stem from an April incident wherein Flores-Ruiz was apprehended outside a Milwaukee courthouse. Federal agents were on site to arrest him following his court appearance, but Judge Dugan subsequently faced indictment for obstruction for allegedly assisting Flores-Ruiz in evading arrest. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is due to stand trial beginning December 15.
Flores-Ruiz had encountered immigration agents before, after a fight with his roommate led to a jail fingerprint submission that flagged him to federal authorities. Having already pleaded guilty to the federal crime and agreed not to fight deportation, he could have received up to two years in prison. However, in exchange for not contesting deportation, prosecutors recommended a sentence of the time served. "He's spent almost seven months in the Ozaukee County Jail on an immigration hold," Martin Pruhs, Flores-Ruiz's attorney in the federal case, told FOX 6 Now.
Now, with the legal proceedings drawing near a close for Flores-Ruiz, as he awaits deportation at the Dodge County Jail, attention turns to Judge Dugan’s upcoming December 15 trial.
