A 55-year-old Methuen man, already convicted of drug crimes in the state, pleaded guilty last week in federal court in Boston to illegally reentering the United States after deportation.
Santos Guzman pleaded guilty to illegal reentry before U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper, who scheduled sentencing for next Feb. 12. Guzman was indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2021.
Guzman, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, entered the U.S. on an unknown date and location and was convicted in 2019 on two state drug trafficking charges. In November 2019, he was deported Jan. 7, 2020 to the Dominican Republic, but re-entered the country. In November 2021, Guzman was arrested on a new state drug trafficking offense. A copy of his fingerprint from his removal document was compared to his fingerprint taken in connection with his November 2021 arrest and were found to be identical.