Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that GERMAN EDUARDO MARTINEZ FRANCO, 41, a citizen of Mexico last residing in West Haven, pleaded guilty yesterday in Hartford federal court to one count of illegally reentering the U.S. after being deported.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on seven occasions between 1998 and 2015, Martinez was encountered in Arizona was subsequently removed to Mexico. In the District of Arizona, in 2010, Martinez was convicted of illegal entry and sentenced to 90 days of imprisonment. In 2011, he was convicted of illegal reentry and sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment; In 2014, he was convicted of possession with intent to distribute marijuana and was sentenced to 33 months of imprisonment. Martinez was last removed to Mexico in December 2015.
On July 1, 2021, Martinez, who was using another identity, was arrested in West Haven and charged with possession with intent to sell greater than one ounce of heroin or methamphetamine, possession with intent to sell a narcotic substance, two counts of possession of a controlled substance, criminal impersonation, and forgery in the first degree. He has been detained since his state arrest.
Martinez is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall on October 31, 2022, at which time his faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.
Martinez has pleaded guilty in state court to a narcotics possession offense and awaits sentencing for that offense.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with the assistance of the West Haven Police Department and Drug Enforcement Administration. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Stolfi Collins.
