Border patrol agents arrest Marion County man convicted of rape, assault
A man convicted of rape and assault in Marion County was arrested in Arizona by Border Patrol agents Sunday.
Agents patrolling the border near Lukeville, Arizona, arrested five men on suspicion of being in the United States illegally, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials.
Among them was 31-year-old Pascual Nava-Gutierrez, a former resident of Donald, Oregon.
While conducting a background check, agents discovered Nava-Gutierrez was convicted of third-degree rape and fourth-degree assault in 2012 before being deported to Mexico.
According to court records, Nava-Gutierrez was convicted of DUI and reckless endangerment in 2008. While he was still on probation in 2010, a Marion County grand jury indicted him on charges of third-degree rape, fourth-degree assault and harassment and issued a warrant for his arrest.
He was taken into custody two years later on new assault charges. After pleading guilty to rape and two counts of assault, Nava-Gutierrez was sentenced to 90 days in jail, five years probation, batterer intervention treatment and ordered to register as a sex offender.
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold was placed on him while he was incarcerated at Marion County jail.
Border patrol officials said Nava-Gutierrez will remain in custody pending prosecution for criminal immigration violations involving re-entry as an aggravated felon. Information was not available on when Nava-Gutierrez had previously been deported, but agents said it was most likely after his release from Marion County Jail.
Officials said all people apprehended by border patrol agents undergo criminal history checks using biometrics like fingerprint analysis to identify those crossing the border illegally who have criminal histories.
In the fiscal year 2017, U.S. Border Patrol arrested almost 8,000 convicted criminals crossing the border illegally. Of those, 2,675 had outstanding warrants for their arrests.
