Deportee, Caught After Hitting Vernon Cop Car, Sentenced

VERNON, CT — An resident of El Salvador and multiple deportee named Hercules, who was picked up in Vernon after smashing into a police cruiser while back in the U.S. illegally, was formally sentenced on Monday, a leading prosecutor said.

John H. Durham, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, said that that Alfredo Dagoberto Hercules Santos, 40, a citizen of El Salvador last residing in New Britain, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to approximately six months of imprisonment, time already served, for illegally re-entering the U.S. after being deported.

Here's his timeline, according to court documents and statements made in court:

• In July 2005, Hercules-Santos was removed from the U.S. to El Salvador.
• He illegally re-entered the U.S., was found in the U.S. in November 2012, and was removed to El Salvador in January 2013.
• He again illegally re-entered the U.S., was found in the U.S. in May 2014, and was removed to El Salvador in June 2014.
• Hercules-Santos illegally reentered the U.S. a third time and, on April 26, 2018, he was arrested in New Britain for driving under the influence. He posted bond on that case and then failed to appear in court to answer the charges.
• On Aug. 19, 2018, the Vernon Police Department arrested Hercules-Santos and charged him with driving under the influence after he crashed an SUV he was driving into an unmarked Vernon Police cruiser. Both driving under the influence cases were resolved with guilty pleas.

Hercules-Santos has been detained since Aug. 19, 2018. On Dec. 18, 2018, he pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of re-entry of removed alien.

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