A man twice deported from the United States to Mexico now faces an illegal immigration charge after Wyoming police arrested him on suspicion of drunk driving near Cheyenne.
The Wyoming U.S. Attorney’s office charged Lino Quintana-Morales, 40, on Friday with one count of illegal reentry for being in the country after having been deported twice prior, according to a charging affidavit in the federal case.
Quintana-Morales faces up to two years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines if convicted.
The affidavit by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Officer Marco Gonzales, says Wyoming police arrested Quintana-Morales near Cheyenne on July 4 for drunk driving and booked him in the Laramie County Detention Center.
Gonzales tried to interview Quintana-Morales the next day at the jail, but Quintana-Morales invoked his right to remain silent and declined to answer questions without an attorney present, the affidavit says.
The ICE officer got ahold of Quintana-Morales’ fingerprints July 14, and they matched Quintana-Morales’ preexisting immigration record, the affidavit says. That record showed two deportation documents, one revealing the authorities had removed Quintan-Morales to Mexico from Texas in 2012, and another showing they took him to Mexico, again from Texas, in 2019.
There was no record that Quintana-Morales had applied to the U.S. Attorney General’s office or the secretary of Homeland Security for permission to reenter the country, Gonzales wrote.
Criminal History
Gonzales also reviewed Quintana-Morales’ criminal history in the U.S.
According to the affidavit, this includes:
- A March 22, 2012, theft conviction in Goshen County, Wyoming, for which Quintana-Morales was given 60 days in jail.
- A March 27, 2013, DUI conviction in Scottsbluff County, Nebraska, with 12 days in jail.
- A March 27, 2013, drug possession conviction in Scottsbluff — six months in jail.
- A July 6, 2018, domestic assault conviction in Scottsbluff — 180 days in jail.
- A Dec. 21, 2018, conviction for reentry of removed aliens — one year and one day in prison.
The affidavit says Quintana-Morales’ 2019 deportation happened after he walked across the border.
Construction Work In Cheyenne
Quintana-Morales told police he had been living recently in Omaha, Nebraska, the affidavit relates, and that he had been doing construction work in Cheyenne at the time of his arrest.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
