07/10/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/10/2025 18:45
JACKSON, MS - A Guatemalan national was sentenced on June 30, 2025 to 17 months in prison for unlawfully reentering the United States after being removed from the country.
According to court documents, Juan Lucas-Gomez, 38, was found by law enforcement officials to be unlawfully present in the country on or about February 28, 2025. He had previously been removed from the United States in July of 2010 following his conviction on January 13, 2009 for aggravated battery of a pregnant woman in Florida. Lucas-Gomez served a state jail sentence prior to his removal in 2010 and was subject to an enhanced federal penalty for unlawfully reentering the United States due to his prior conviction.
Lucas-Gomez was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 4, 2025. He pleaded guilty on March 31, 2025.
Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, Patrick A. Lemon and Eric P. DeLaune, Special Agent-in-Charge for Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans, Louisiana; and Brian Acuna, Acting Field Office Director of ICE/ERO in New Orleans, made the announcement.
Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Brett Grantham prosecuted the case.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security investigations as part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
Karen Coates
Public Affairs Officer
Karen.Coates@usdoj.gov