DAYTON – A jury has convicted Oscar Lopez Acosta, 41, a citizen of Honduras, with being found in the United States, without authorization, after having twice been deported.

 

Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Rebecca Adducci, Field Office Director, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), announced the verdict reached yesterday evening, after a trial that began on Monday before U.S. District Judge Walter H. Rice.

 

According to records and trial testimony, in 2009, U.S. Immigration authorities encountered Acosta in Florida, an Immigration Judge in Pompano Beach, Fla., ordered that he be deported, and immigration authorities deported Acosta to his home country of Honduras.  Acosta was banned from reentering the United States for 10 years. 

 

He returned without authorization, and in 2012, immigration officials encountered Acosta again, this time near Brownsville, Texas. Acosta was convicted in federal court in Texas of illegally entering the country, a misdemeanor, and following his conviction, Acosta was again deported to Honduras. This time, Acosta was banned from reentering the United States for 20 years.

 

In October 2018, immigration officials encountered Acosta in Riverside, Ohio, after local police responded to a crash involving an uninsured car owned by Acosta and in which he was a passenger.

 

The jury convicted Acosta of one count of being found in the United States after deportation and without authorization, a crime punishable by up to two years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for April 30, 2019.

 

U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation by ICE and the assistance of the Riverside Police Department, as well as Assistant United States Attorney Andrew J. Hunt and First Assistant United States Attorney Vipal J. Patel, who are representing the United States in this case. 

 

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