Mexican National Admits to Reentry Charge

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Apolinar Armando Lopez-Gutierrez, age 38, of Mexico, has admitted to reentry of a removed alien.

According to court documents and statements made in court, a stabbing investigation in Tennessee led officials to Lopez-Gutierrez, who was believed to be friends with the stabbing suspect. Lopez-Gutierrez was found living and working in Sutton, West Virginia. He was previously removed from the United States in April of 2024.

Lopez-Gutierrez is facing up to two years in federal prison.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Cogar is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.

The Department of Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Marshals Service investigated.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.