HOUSTON, Texas — A 34-year-old Honduran national has been sentenced to 70 months in federal prison for unlawfully returning to the United States after a prior removal, according to U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. Jose Leon Cruz-Lanza, who pleaded guilty on April 7, is expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment.
Cruz-Lanza was first removed from the United States in 2017 but returned illegally and was convicted of illegal reentry. In May 2022, authorities found him in The Woodlands, Texas, after he had assaulted two law enforcement officers, a local police officer and a deputy constable. “The defendant in this case took a bad situation and made it much, much worse,” said Ganjei. “You don’t come to this country illegally, and you don’t assault law enforcement.”…