Dominican National Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Reentering U.S.

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOSE OZUNA CRUZ, also known as Jose Cruz-Cruz, Jose Chapulin, Jose Ozuna-Montero, and Jose Ozun-Cruz, 48, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to 12 months and one day of imprisonment for illegally reentering the United States after being deported.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Ozuna was deported from the U.S. to the Dominican Republic in February 2010 following a felony conviction in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California for conspiracy to distribute cocaine, and a 37-month prison sentence. Ozuna subsequently illegally reentered the U.S. On November 21, 2022, he was arrested by Waterbury Police in Waterbury and charged with various state drug distribution and firearm possession offenses.

Ozuna has been detained since his federal arrest on November 9, 2023. On January 30, 2024, he pleaded guilty to illegal reentry.

The state charges against Ozuna are pending.

This matter was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anastasia E. King.