Mexican Man Gets Prison in ND For Illegal Re-entry

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A 29-year-old man who was deported back to his home country of Mexico after serving time for a cocaine charge in Utah has been sentenced to one year and six months in prison for illegally re-entering the United States.

U.S. Attorney for North Dakota Timothy Purdon says 29-year-old Rafael Estrada-Santana, Tuzantla, Michoacan, Mexico, pleaded guilty to the re-entry charge on Thursday in district court.

Prosecutors say Estrada-Santana was a passenger in a vehicle stopped for a traffic violation in New Town, N.D, in September. Authorities determined he was in the country illegally. Estrada-Santana had been deported to Mexico in 2009 after he was convicted and jailed for possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute it in Utah.

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