Juan Jose Carrasco Cardenas, 40, a Mexican man last living in Meriden, was sentenced in Hartford Thursday to six months in prison for illegally reentering the U.S.<\/p>\n
HARTFORD, Conn. \u2014 A Mexican man was sentenced in Hartford<\/a> Thursday to six months in prison for illegally returning to the United States after having previously been removed from the country multiple times.<\/p>\n Juan Jose Carrasco Cardenas, a 40-year-old who last lived in Meriden, received the sentence in federal court, according to a report<\/a> from the interim U.S. Attorney<\/a> for the District of Connecticut.<\/p>\n Court documents and statements show that in January 2002, Carrasco Cardenas was found by U.S. Border Patrol personnel and issued a voluntary return to Mexico.<\/p>\n RELATED: Mexican man charged in Connecticut for illegally reentering United States<\/a><\/p>\n In May 2009, U.S. Border Patrol members located Carrasco Cardenas in Arizona after he illegally entered the U.S. again. \u00a0<\/p>\n For this offense, he was charged in the District of Arizona with improper entry of an alien. Carrasco Cardenas received a five-day prison sentence and was issued a voluntary return to Mexico in June 2009.<\/p>\n Sign up for the FOX61 newsletters:\u00a0Morning Forecast, Morning Headlines, Evening Headlines<\/a><\/p>\n However, in January 2018, Carrasco Cardenas was arrested in Kansas, where he was charged in Saline County with multiple offenses connected to marijuana sales.<\/p>\n Carrasco Cardenas was convicted in this instance of a state marijuana distribution offense and sentenced to 30 days in jail. He was removed again to Mexico in October 2019.<\/p>\n Then, this August, Carrasco Cardenas was discovered in Connecticut.<\/p>\n RELATED: Mexican man pleads guilty to selling cocaine in Connecticut<\/a><\/p>\n Prosecutors say that he was arrested in Meriden on Aug. 27 by members of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement\u2019s Enforcement and Removal Operations team.<\/p>\n Carrasco Cardenas pleaded guilty to illegal reentry on Sept. 18. He has been detained since his arrest and will be removed to Mexico once more after finishing his prison term.<\/p>\n The case was investigated by ICE\u2019s Enforcement and Removal Operations team and is part of Operation Take Back America, a national effort to use U.S. Justice Department resources to curb the number of undocumented people entering the country.<\/p>\n Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at\u00a0dzbierski@FOX61.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Do you have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at\u00a0newstips@fox61.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS<\/p>\n Download the FOX61 News APP<\/p>\n iTunes:\u00a0Click here<\/a> to download<\/p>\n Google Play:\u00a0Click here<\/a> to download<\/p>\n Stream Live on ROKU:\u00a0Add the channel from the ROKU store<\/a> or by searching FOX61.<\/p>\n Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search \u2018FOX61\u2019 and click \u2018Get\u2019 to download.<\/p>\n FOLLOW US ON\u00a0X<\/a>,\u00a0FACEBOOK<\/a>\u00a0&\u00a0INSTAGRAM<\/a><\/p>\n