UK Citizen Sentenced For Unlawful Reentry To U.S. After Bridgeport Arrest: Feds

BRIDGEPORT, CT — A United Kingdom citizen, who was arrested in Bridgeport last year, was sentenced Wednesday in federal court for unlawfully reentering the United States after previously being removed to Canada, federal prosecutors said.

John O’Rourke, also known as John Casey, 27, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford to 10 days in federal prison, to be served consecutively to his state sentences, U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan said.

According to court documents and statements made in court, O’Rourke has used several aliases, including John O’Rouke, Michael Casey, John Joyce, Robert Davanzo, David Collins and James McCormack.

U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended O’Rourke under an alias and four other people near Fort Covington, New York, close to the Canadian border, on Oct. 7, 2024, prosecutors said. Investigators determined O’Rourke did not have legal status in the United States, and he was removed from New York to Canada on foot on Oct. 15, 2024.

Prosecutors said O’Rourke later unlawfully reentered the United States.

O’Rourke was arrested under the name John Casey in Bridgeport on Feb. 18, 2025, and charged with state offenses including evading responsibility and breach of peace, according to prosecutors.

On March 2, 2026, O’Rourke was arrested under the same name in Pleasanton, California, on a warrant issued by a judge in Torrington. The Connecticut charges include first-degree larceny, making home improvements without a valid home improvement certificate and misrepresenting or impersonating a registered contractor, prosecutors said.

O’Rourke also has a pending larceny case in Danbury.

Federal prosecutors said O’Rourke has additional pending cases stemming from arrests under various aliases in Suffolk County, New York, in November 2023; Everett, Washington, in September 2025; Linden, New Jersey, in December 2025; and Snohomish County, Washington, in January 2026. Law enforcement also is seeking him in Surrey, England, prosecutors said.

O’Rourke has been held in state custody since his March 2 arrest. He pleaded guilty in federal court May 14 to unlawful reentry of a removed alien.

His pending state cases in Bridgeport, Danbury and Torrington are expected to be resolved next month, according to prosecutors.

After completing his state sentences and the consecutive 10-day federal sentence, O’Rourke will be transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody and removed to the United Kingdom, prosecutors said.

Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Neeraj N. Patel and Michael S. Deel prosecuted it.