Crime & Safety
Hartford Man Admits Illegally Re-Entering U.S. After 2 Deportations: Feds
The Guatemalan citizen living in Hartford pleaded guilty to illegally re-entering the U.S. after two prior deportations, prosecutors said.
HARTFORD, CT — A Guatemalan citizen who had been living in Hartford has pleaded guilty in federal court to unlawfully re-entering the United States after previously being deported twice, federal prosecutors announced.
U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan said Jony Galeano Lopez-Garcia, also known as Yoni Lopez Garcia, 27, entered the guilty plea Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Lopez-Garcia was first encountered by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Arizona in November 2017.
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He was deported to Guatemala the following month and warned that he could not legally return to the United States for five years.
Federal prosecutors said Lopez-Garcia unlawfully re-entered the country in January 2018.
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He was later convicted in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas of illegally entering the United States.
In February 2018, he was again deported to Guatemala and warned that he was barred from returning to the U.S. for 20 years.
Prosecutors allege Lopez-Garcia again unlawfully re-entered the United States after that deportation.
On Nov. 27, 2025, Hartford police arrested Lopez-Garcia, who authorities said was using the name Yoni Lopez Garcia.
He was charged in state court with first-degree assault, conspiracy to commit first-degree assault, third-degree assault, carrying a dangerous weapon, second-degree threatening by physical threat, and other offenses.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, he was released on bond in the state case.
The U.S. District Court in Hartford issued a federal criminal complaint charging Lopez-Garcia with unlawful re-entry on April 27.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Enforcement and Removal Operations officers arrested him the following day in Hartford, and he has remained in federal custody since his arrest.
Lopez-Garcia is awaiting sentencing. The unlawful reentry charge carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison.
The federal unlawful reentry case is separate from the pending state criminal charges, which remain allegations unless and until proven in court.
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