Previously Removed Illegal Alien from Mexico Sentenced to 60 Months’ Imprisonment for Drug and Immigration Crimes in the District of Utah

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - A previously removed illegal alien from Mexico was sentenced today to five years' imprisonment after he possessed and intended to distribute approximately 17 pounds of methamphetamine and illegally reentered the United States after being removed in 2020.

In addition to his term of imprisonment, Juan Alexis Castanon-Chavez, 28, residing illegally in Bountiful, Utah, was sentenced to one year of supervised release. Upon his release from imprisonment, Castanon-Chavez will be remanded to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation proceedings.

According to court documents and statements made at Castanon-Chavez's sentencing and change of plea hearings, on March 2, 2025, agents arranged a controlled purchase of narcotics from Castanon-Chavez. On that day, Castanon-Chavez brought approximately eight kilograms of methamphetamine to sell to an undercover agent posing as a drug purchaser. Agents seized approximately 7,930 grams of field-tested positive methamphetamine from Castanon-Chavez's vehicle. Castanon-Chavez admitted he intended to sell the methamphetamine had it not been seized by law enforcement. He further admitted that he unlawfully reentered the United States after he was removed on March 3, 2020. See prior press release: Mexican National Facing Drug and Immigration Charges.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak of the District of Utah made the announcement.

The case was investigated jointly by the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office and the Davis County Drug Task Force.

Assistant United States Attorney Vernon G. Stejskal of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, 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.