Stamford Resident Who Was Deported 4 Times Sentenced To Prison: Feds

STAMFORD, CT — A 54-year-old Honduran national who lived in Stamford and was previously deported four times was sentenced to three years in prison for illegally reentering the United States, according to a news release from Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea handed down the sentence Tuesday in Hartford to Miguel Antonio Contreras-Martinez.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Contreras-Martinez was deported from the U.S. to Honduras in 2006, following the completion of a Connecticut state sentence for a violation of probation and violation of a protective order, and in 2010, after he completed a Connecticut state sentence for carrying a dangerous weapon, Avery said in a news release.

Contreras-Martinez returned to the U.S., was convicted in Connecticut state court of criminal trespass and in federal court of illegal reentry, and was deported to Honduras in 2013, Avery noted. He was subsequently again found in the U.S. and deported to Honduras in 2016.

In 2021, Contreras-Martinez was arrested by Stamford police for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol/drugs, and operating a motor vehicle under suspension, Avery said. He then failed to appear for a court proceeding.

On Sept. 30, 2022, Contreras-Martinez turned himself into the Fairfield Police Department after a hit-and-run incident, Avery said.

Contreras-Martinez has been detained since his federal arrest on Nov. 10, 2022.

On July 13, 2023, he pleaded guilty to illegal reentry of a removed alien.

This investigation was conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Stolfi Collins.