Miguel Angel Arcos-Vasquez, also known as Dimas Fernando Herrarte, 26, has been indicted in federal court with one count of illegally reentering the U.S. after being deported, John Durham, the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced this week. Arcos-Vasquez, a citizen of either Mexico or Guatemala - officials are attempting to determine which - and last was known to reside in Norwalk.
Arcos-Vasquez allegedly illegally entered the country around the beginning of 2014. In March 2014, he was arrested by the Stratford Police Department for a burglary offense.
In April 2014, he then failed to appear in court, though he was not approached by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at the time of his arrest. In January that year, he allegedly again illegally entered the country. In January 2016, Arcos-Vasquez again allegedly attempted to enter the country three times through Texas, but was removed to Mexico following each unsuccessful attempt.
It is further alleged that, on Jan. 24 last year, Arcos-Vasquez was arrested by the Stamford Police Department on charges of first-degree threatening. On Jan. 27, under the name of Dimas Herrarte-Ramirez, he was charged by the Norwalk Police Department with the sale of hallucinogens, narcotics and criminal possession of a firearm. Arcos-Vasquez has been detained since that time, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials were notified of the various offenses.
Durham said that in October last year, the state charges against Arcos-Vasquez were resolved and he is currently serving a sentence of five years of imprisonment, execution suspended after two years.
Arcos-Vasquez has pleaded not guilty to the latest charge in New Haven. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of two years in prison. Immigration authorities are still in the process of determining if Arcos-Vasquez is a citizen of Mexico or Guatemala. Keep following Daily Voice for updates as the case develops.
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