SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations officers arrested last Friday a citizen of the Dominican Republic in possession of fraudulent identification documents. The individual had served time on a prior conviction for reentering the US without authorization and had been removed at least 5 times.
Jesus De Castro-Eusebio appeared yesterday before US Magistrate Judge Camille Velez Rive on charges of reentering the United States after being removed subsequent to a felony conviction.
On February 27, Mr. De Castro- Eusebio presented to CBP Officers a Puerto Rico driver’s license, and was in possession of a Social Security Card and a Puerto Rico birth certificate, under the name of Roberto Colon-Bonet, attempting to travel to New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport.
The passenger was escorted to secondary inspection where, after further questioning, he revealed his real name and admitted that he purchased the documents for approximately $600.
“CBP officers seek to detect and apprehend convicted criminals who try to re-enter the country illegally and return to break our laws,” stated Marcelino Borges, Director of Field Operations for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. “Our officers remain vigilant to the use of fraudulent documents as a means to elude detection.”
Special Assistant US Attorney Jorge Ramos leads the prosecution.
If convicted, Mr. De Castro-Eusebio could be fined, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.
All defendants are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law.