Dominican national sentenced in Wisconsin to nearly 2 years in federal prison for immigration and gun crimes

MADISON, Wis. — A previously deported Dominican national was sentenced to nearly two years in prison Thursday following his guilty pleas to federal immigration and gun-related charges.

This sentence resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Rock County (Wis.) Safe Streets Task Force.

Aneudy Benitez-Martinez, 33, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, was sentenced March 6 in the Western District of Wisconsin. U.S. District Judge Lynn S. Adelman sentenced Benitez-Martinez to 21 months in prison for illegally re-entering the United States after having been previously deported, and for being an illegal alien unlawfully possessing a firearm. Benitez-Martinez pleaded guilty to these charges Nov. 13. Anyone who re-enters the United States after having been previously deported commits a felony punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.

On Aug. 22, 2013, Benitez-Martinez was arrested in Edgerton, Wis. for illegally re-entering the United States after having been previously deported. During the arrest, HSI special agents found a .44-magnum revolver in Benitez-Martinez's home. In a post-arrest interview, he admitted to illegally re-entering the country and illegally possessing a firearm. He has a prior felony conviction for distributing cocaine from the state of Oklahoma.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Reinhard, Western District of Wisconsin, prosecuted this case.