A Cheyenne man from Mexico accused of whacking his wife with a clothing iron and strangling her now faces a federal charge of reentering the United States illegally.
Sergio C. Bucio, 56, was arrested Dec. 7 and booked in the Laramie County Detention Center, then charged with one count of aggravated assault and another of strangulation of a household member. Each is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Cheyenne Police Department Officer Timothy Painter wrote in an evidentiary affidavit that at around midnight the night prior, Bucio and his wife got into an argument. Bucio allegedly grabbed a clothing iron and hit her in the head with it, then climbed onto her and wrapped his hands around her throat while threatening to kill her.
Painter noticed that Bucio’s wife had dried blood, marks and redness on her head, the affidavit says.
Bucio’s case appears to be ongoing in the state courts system.
Meanwhile, An ICE Agent
Meanwhile a federal prosecutor, U.S. Assistant Attorney Cameron J. Cook, charged Bucio on Monday with illegal reentry, a federal felony. That charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.
The federal affidavit says that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Deportation Officer Alejandro Pena contacted Bucio at the jail Dec. 7.
Bucio reportedly confirmed his identity and that he’s a Mexican national who had previously been deported back to Mexico.
ICE’s records allege at least two prior deportations: one happening exactly 30 years before the new federal charge on Dec. 18, 1993, and one on May 29, 2015.
Pena checked Bucio’s criminal history as well and discovered two convictions for dealing heroin in 1992 in Orange County, California, along with two more convictions for dealing cocaine. The records also reveal a 2005 DUI conviction in Colorado and a 2014 DUI conviction in Laramie County, Wyoming.
Bucio’s record also reportedly contains a 2015 federal conviction for reentering the U.S. illegally.
Bucio’s federal case is also ongoing.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.