Federal agents have arrested a Mexican national who was caught in Lake County after he was previously deported to Mexico following a conviction for a shooting.
Jesus Ayala-Ayala, 33, was charged last month in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois with one count of reentry by deported aliens.
An arrest affidavit filed in federal court said Ayala-Ayala was present and found in the United States after having previously been removed.
Ayala-Ayala is a native and citizen of Mexico and has no claim to United States citizenship or lawful residence, the affidavit said.
Ayala-Ayala was convicted in March 2011 of discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle at a person in Tulare County Superior Court in California.
He received a seven-year prison sentence and DHS records show he was removed from the United States back to Mexico on July 22, 2015.
The affidavit said Ayala-Ayala was instructed that he was being deported and was permanently unable to return to the United States due to his felony conviction.
U.S. immigration officials learned that Ayala-Ayala was present in Libertyville on February 3, 2024, after the Libertyville Police Department arrested him that day for various traffic violations, the affidavit said.
Booking photo and fingerprint comparisons matched Ayala-Ayala as the same person who was previously deported, the affidavit said.
The federal charge was filed against Ayala-Ayala last month and he was taken into custody on an arrest warrant by federal agents.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office sought to have Ayala-Ayala detained in custody while awaiting trial.
U.S. District Court Judge Young B. Kim denied the request and released Ayala-Ayala with pre-trial release conditions, including a $10,000 unsecured signature bond.
The charge against Ayala-Ayala carries enhanced penalties due to Ayala-Ayala’s previous removal stemming from an aggravated felony conviction.
His next court hearing has not been scheduled yet.