Reynaldo Mejia-Mejia, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, pleaded guilty Tuesday in District Court before Magistrate Judge George W. Cannon, Jr. to illegally reentering the United States, according to U.S. Attorney for the District of the Virgin Islands Gretchen Shappert.
Shappert’s office said court documents show Reynaldo Mejia-Mejia, age 33, presented himself to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers for inspection to board a Spirit airlines flight from St. Croix USVI to Fort Lauderdale on March 23. He reportedly displayed a Washington State driver’s license in someone else’s name and his own photo as proof of identification to travel.
During questioning at the primary inspection, Mejia reportedly said he was born in Puerto Rico but the Customs officer believed Mejia’s accent sounded distinctive to the Dominican
Republic. A fingerprint check reportedly identified Mejia-Mejia, and record checks revealed that he was previously deported by immigration officials in 2018 and 2019 from the United States to the Dominican Republic. Customs officers determined that Mejia-Mejia is a citizen and national of the Dominican Republic, and was not in possession of the required legal documents to
enter the United States.
Mejia-Mejia is scheduled to be sentenced on August 18, 2022, and faces a maximum penalty of two years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.