(WFRV) – A 37-year-old Mexican citizen illegally in the United States was sentenced on Wednesday by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 51 months in federal prison for drug trafficking.
According to Timothy M. O’Shea, the United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, Eli Torres-Banos pled guilty on January 14 to a charge of possession of over five kilograms of cocaine intended for distribution.
Wisconsin man sentenced to 11 years for multiple armed carjackings, one causing severe injuries
In November 2023, Torres-Banos was indicted for illegally entering the United States after he was previously deported and a warrant was issued. He was arrested in Ixonia, Wisconsin, by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
That same day, he made a phone call to somebody he claimed was his wife, but an ICE agent overheard him say in Spanish that drugs were in a vehicle’s trunk. The Jefferson County Drug Task Force was alerted and searched the car, finding about 8.5 kilograms of cocaine.
Torres-Banos was sentenced to a year in federal prison on June 4, 2024, due to his conviction of illegal reentry. The drug crime sentence stemmed from his criminal history, and the crime arose from a previous arrest.
No additional details were provided.
