Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Salt Lake City removed an unlawfully present foreign fugitive April 18 wanted by law enforcement authorities in his home country of Mexico to face charges of possession of a firearm without a license.
Luis Enrique Villalpando Villagomez, 28, departed from Las Vegas, Nevada, and arrived at California’s San Ysidro Port of Entry, where officials transferred him into the custody of authorities from Mexico.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection admitted Villalpando to the United States through Hidalgo, Texas, on March 8, 2023, and he violated the terms of his admittance.
The Santaquin Police Department in Santaquin arrested Villalpando for the offenses of burglary and aggravated assault April 27, 2023. ERO encountered Villapando at the Guilford County Detention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, following his arrest for an outstanding arrest warrant out of Utah for aggravated assault. He was then extradited from North Carolina to Utah.
Upon extradition back to Utah, officers with ERO encountered Villapando at the Utah County Jail in Spanish Fork Jan. 25, and filed a detainer with the jail. Villapando was released to ERO custody March 12 and transferred to the Nevada Southern Detention Center in Pahrump, Nevada, to await immigration proceedings. An immigration judge ordered Villapando removed March 26. Officers carried out the judge’s order and returned him to Mexico April 18.
