Jonathan Manuel Lara Troncoso, Illegal Reentry of a Deported Alien, Massachusetts 2024

Jonathan Manuel Lara Troncoso, a 32-year-old Dominican national from Lawrence, Massachusetts, stood before a federal judge in Boston today and admitted to illegally reentering the United States after being formally deported in 2006 — a crime that now puts him back on the path to federal prison.

Troncoso pleaded guilty to one count of illegal reentry of a deported alien, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of two years behind bars, up to one year of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris set sentencing for August 15, 2019, giving prosecutors and defense attorneys time to file motions and present sentencing recommendations.

The case unraveled during a prior state conviction. Troncoso was initially booked into Essex County correctional facilities under an alias, charged with fentanyl trafficking. While serving a three-to-five-year state prison sentence, authorities took his fingerprints — a routine move that exposed his true identity and triggered a federal immigration hit.

Records show those fingerprints matched a prior deportation order issued in June 2006, confirming Troncoso had been formally removed from the country over a decade earlier. His use of a false name didn’t shield him — it only added weight to the federal case now being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Upon completion of his pending sentence, Troncoso will face immediate deportation proceedings, according to federal immigration authorities. His return to the U.S. after lawful removal is a serious federal offense, especially given his underlying drug conviction, which enhances prosecutorial leverage.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Marcos D. Charles, Acting Field Office Director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston, confirmed the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey E. Weinstein of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is handling the prosecution. The case underscores the federal government’s focus on targeting repeat offenders who exploit identity fraud to reenter the country illegally.

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