FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — A man previously deported from the United States has been indicted by a federal grand jury on a charge of illegal reentry after authorities identified him following a 2023 arrest by Fairfax County police, according to federal court records.
Kevin Enoch Garcia Gomez, a citizen of Nicaragua, was indicted Thursday, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria. The indictment charges him with one felony count of illegal reentry after removal, in violation of Title 8, Section 1326(a) of the U.S. Code.
According to a sworn affidavit filed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation officer Eben Morris, Garcia Gomez was arrested by Fairfax County police on or about Sept. 18, 2023, and charged with seven offenses, including felony assault and battery of a law enforcement officer. He was temporarily detained at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, where authorities obtained his photograph and fingerprints before releasing him.
The FBI notified ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations office in Washington about Garcia Gomez's arrest, prompting federal immigration authorities to investigate his identity and immigration history.
According to the affidavit, federal records showed that Garcia Gomez had previously been deported from the United States on June 2, 2022, through Alexandria, Louisiana, following a final order of removal.
The removal carried a 10-year ban on reentry into the United States, according to the affidavit.
Investigators obtained Garcia Gomez's fingerprint records and booking photograph from Fairfax County police and compared them with federal immigration records.
The fingerprints were processed through a federal identification system connected to FBI criminal records. Investigators also requested a separate comparison by the FBI's Special Processing Center for Biometric Technology.
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That comparison matched fingerprints from Garcia Gomez's Fairfax County arrest with those on a federal immigration document executed during his June 2022 removal, according to the affidavit.
Morris also reviewed Garcia Gomez's immigration file, which contained his photograph, fingerprints, signature and documentation of his previous deportation.
The affidavit states that investigators found no evidence that Garcia Gomez had obtained legal authorization to reenter or remain in the United States following his removal.
Federal prosecutors allege that Garcia Gomez was unlawfully present in Fairfax County on Sept. 18, 2023, without obtaining permission from the U.S. attorney general or the secretary of homeland security to apply for readmission.
Federal prosecutors initially filed a criminal complaint against Garcia Gomez on March 19, 2024. U.S. Magistrate Judge William B. Porter issued an arrest warrant that day.
Court records show the warrant was executed Oct. 10, 2026, more than two years after it was issued.
Garcia Gomez made his initial appearance in federal court in Alexandria on Oct. 13 before U.S. Magistrate Judge John F. Anderson.
During that hearing, prosecutors requested that Garcia Gomez remain in custody pending further proceedings. The court granted a request for a detention hearing and ordered him held in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
At an Oct. 15 hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lindsey R. Vaala, Garcia Gomez waived his preliminary hearing. The court found probable cause to proceed, and the case was referred for further proceedings before a federal grand jury.
Court records indicate that Garcia Gomez did not seek release at that hearing and was ordered to remain in federal custody.
The grand jury returned its indictment Thursday, formally charging him with illegal reentry after removal.
Garcia Gomez is represented by Ann Mason Rigby of the Office of the Federal Public Defender. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ursula Nicole Simmons is prosecuting the case.
His arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 12:30 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr. in Alexandria.
The federal court documents reviewed by Patch do not establish the disposition of the seven charges associated with Garcia Gomez's September 2023 Fairfax County arrest. A similar online search of Virginia court records failed to produce any other information about the 2023 arrest.
Garcia Gomez is presumed innocent of the federal charge unless and until proven guilty.
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