FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — A Herndon man previously arrested by federal authorities has been indicted on an illegal reentry charge and is scheduled to appear in federal court Wednesday for a plea and sentencing hearing, according to newly filed court records.
On Thursday, a federal grand jury in Alexandria indicted Jose Douglas Maldonado Regalado on one count of illegal reentry after removal, a felony under federal law.
The indictment says Maldonado Regalado was found in Fairfax County on or about May 8 after previously being removed from the United States near Alexandria, Louisiana, on Oct. 14, 2024. Prosecutor said he had not obtained permission from the U.S. attorney general or secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to reapply for admission.
The indictment moves the federal prosecution beyond the criminal complaint that led to Maldonado Regalado's Aug. 26 arrest. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema in Alexandria. Federal public defender Whitney E.C. Minter represents Maldonado Regalado.
At an Aug. 31 detention and preliminary hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge William B. Porter found probable cause after prosecutors presented evidence. Maldonado Regalado waived a detention hearing, and his defense did not seek his release at that time. Porter ordered him to remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service while the case proceeded to a grand jury. herndoncase
RELATED: Herndon Man In Fairfax, Loudoun Cases Faces Federal Reentry Charge
The grand jury returned the indictment Sept. 24. An arraignment initially scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 29, has since been canceled. The court instead scheduled a plea and sentencing hearing for 9 a.m. Wednesday, before Brinkema in Alexandria.
The docket does not identify a plea agreement or state what sentence may be imposed at Wednesday's hearing.
The federal case followed Maldonado Regalado's May 8 arrest by Herndon police. Immigration and Customs Enforcement learned of that arrest and used his fingerprints to identify him, according to the federal affidavit previously reviewed by Patch.
The affidavit identified Maldonado Regalado as a native and citizen of Honduras who was removed from the United States near Alexandria, Louisiana, in November 2011 and again on Oct. 14, 2024. Federal investigators obtained the fingerprint card and booking photograph from his May arrest, and ICE's Homeland Security Investigations Forensic Laboratory subsequently determined that the fingerprints matched those associated with his 2024 removal.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Ivan D. Davis issued an arrest warrant Aug. 20. Maldonado Regalado was arrested Aug. 26 and initially ordered temporarily detained.
Maldonado Regalado also has faced several cases in Fairfax and Loudoun counties.
As Patch previously reported, his May arrest resulted in a Fairfax County charge of driving while intoxicated, second offense within five years. He also faced a related failure-to-appear charge and was arrested again July 16 on a charge of falsely identifying himself to law enforcement. Two Herndon ordinance cases accused him of public intoxication and urinating in public.
In Loudoun County, Maldonado Regalado faced charges stemming from an August 2024 incident, including possessing a firearm while unlawfully present in the United States, possessing a firearm while possessing a Schedule I or II drug, possessing a Schedule I or II drug, driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of a crash involving more than $500 in damage.
The newly provided federal documents do not establish whether the status or hearing dates of those state cases have changed since Patch's Aug. 27 report.
The federal indictment is an allegation. Maldonado Regalado is presumed innocent unless and until he is proved guilty.
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