A Guatemalan national living illegally in the Springfield, Greene County area was sentenced on Apr. 6 in federal court for illegally reentering the United States after a prior aggravated felony conviction.
Miguel Guzman-Guerra, also known as Joel Montoya Ortiz, age 38, received a sentence of 24 months’ imprisonment with the Bureau of Prisons from District Court Chief Judge Brian Wimes. After serving his prison term, Guzman-Guerra will be deported to Guatemala. This sentencing follows his arrest by Carthage Police on Jan. 23, 2025 during a traffic stop where he was charged with driving while revoked, identity theft, and failure to register as a sex offender. Law enforcement determined that Guzman-Guerra had previously been removed from the United States in 2014 and was present illegally.
Guzman-Guerra’s earlier conviction involved an aggravated felony offense of sexual indecency with a child before his return to the United States without authorization. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney and investigated by Homeland Security-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Removal Operations alongside Carthage Police Department.
This prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America, described as “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.”
The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri supports community outreach programs focused on issues such as violent crime and drug trafficking according to its official website. The office has locations in Kansas City, Jefferson City and Springfield according to its official website.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office handles federal prosecutions across 66 counties in western Missouri according to its official website, covering an area stretching from Iowa’s border southward to Arkansas’s border and eastward about halfway across Missouri according to its official website. It works closely with law enforcement at all levels including federal, state, local and tribal partners according to its official website.
