Helena Rape Suspect Indicted For Illegal Entry To U.S.

SHELBY COUNTY, AL - A Helena man who was reportedly deported three years ago has been indicted for illegal re-entry into the United States. Amancio Betancourt Martinez, 27, was previously charged with the rape of a juvenile in Alabaster and was deported three years ago after being convicted of drug trafficking.

Martinez became the subject of a federal investigation after Alabaster police contacted the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigrant and Customs Enforcement in November, according to a report by Alabama Media Group. At that time, Martinez was a suspect in a rape investigation involving a juvenile female and was believed to be a foreign national who had been previously removed from the U.S.

Court records show that federal investigators, along with Alabaster police and Shelby County sheriff’s deputies, went to an undisclosed job site where Martinez was employed. Once there, Martinez, who is a native and citizen of Mexico, was fingerprinted and positively identified.

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Martinez was arrested by Alabaster police on Dec. 3 and charged with first-degree rape for an alleged incident that happened on Nov. 26.

Martinez had reportedly been removed from the U.S. on Dec. 31, 2015, after being convicted in Shelby County in 2014 on cocaine trafficking charges. In that case, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison with three years of probation. He had also been convicted in June 2012 in Jefferson County for giving false information to law enforcement. He was sentenced to six months with 24 months of probation on that conviction.

Photo via Shelby County Jail