ANDOVER, CT — A traffic stop in eastern Connecticut led to the discovery of someone who sneaked back into the country, federal officials said.
David X. Sullivan, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, said Wednesday that 39-year-old Honduran citizen Belin Gonzalez-Garcia, also known as Belin Garcia and Belin Gonzalez, has been charged by federal criminal complaint with illegal re-entry of a removed alien.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in October 2009, Gonzalez-Garcia, under the name Belin Gonzalez, was convicted in Connecticut state court of first-degree assault and sentenced to 18 years in prison, suspended after seven years, and three years of probation. In April 2015, Gonzalez-Garcia was removed from the U.S. to Honduras, according to case records.
In September 2016, U.S. Border Patrol encountered and arrested Gonzalez-Garcia in Brownsville, Texas. He was subsequently convicted in the Southern District of Texas of illegal re-entry of a removed alien and sentenced to 30 months in prison, case records show. In December 2018, Gonzalez-Garcia was again removed to Honduras.
According to the complaint, in August 2020, the USBP encountered and arrested Gonzalez-Garcia in La Joya, Texas. In January 2021, he was convicted in the Southern District of Texas of illegal re-entry of a removed alien and sentenced to 37 months in prison. In June 2023, he was again removed to Honduras, according to the complaint.
In December 2023, the USBP encountered and arrested Gonzalez-Garcia in Eagle Pass, Texas. In January 2024, he was again removed to Honduras, according to the complaint.
He then wound up back in the U.S. — and in Connecticut — last month, according to the complaint.
The complaint states that, on June 7 , 2026, Connecticut State Police arrested Gonzalez-Garcia, who identified himself as "Belin Garcia," in Andover, following a car accident.
According to a CSP crash report, he was heading east on Route 6 in a 203 Jeep Cherokee registered out of Windham. He then lost control of the vehicle and wound up in a roadside copse of trees, according to a CSP crash report. He also gave state police a Windham address in addition to the alias, the report shows.
Gonzalez-Garcia was subsequently charged in Rockville Superior Court with driving under the influence, evading responsibility, failure to drive in proper lane and operating a motor vehicle without a license. He was released on a $2,500 bond.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement then took Gonzalez-Garcia into custody on June 23, 2026.
Facing federal punishment, Gonzalez-Garcia appeared Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas O. Farrish in Hartford and was ordered detained. If convicted of the charge of unlawful re-entry, Gonzalez-Garcia faces a maximum prison term of 20 years.
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