Man Arrested In West Haven Sentenced For Illegally Reentering The U.S.

WEST HAVEN, CT — German Eduardo Martinez Franco, a 42-year-old Mexican citizen who last lived in West Haven, was sentenced Wednesday to 37 months in federal prison for illegally reentering the U.S. after being deported, U.S. States Attorney for Connecticut Vanessa Roberts Avery announced.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on seven occasions between 1998 and 2015, Martinez was encountered in Arizona and subsequently removed to Mexico, according to a news release.

In Arizona in 2010, Martinez was convicted of illegal entry and sentenced to 90 days of imprisonment. In 2011, he was convicted of illegal reentry and sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment; In 2014, he was convicted of possession with intent to distribute marijuana and was sentenced to 33 months of imprisonment, according to officials. Martinez was last removed to Mexico in December 2015, officials said.

“On July 1, 2021, Martinez, who was using another identity, was arrested in West Haven and charged in state court with possession with intent to sell greater than one ounce of heroin or methamphetamine, possession with intent to sell a narcotic substance, two counts of possession of a controlled substance, criminal impersonation, and forgery in the first degree,” officials wrote in the news release.

Martinez has been detained since July 1, 2021. He pleaded guilty in August in federal court to illegal reentry.

Martinez pleaded guilty in state court and was sentenced to 72 months of incarceration, according to officials.