Mexican National Caught In Branson Facing Prison Time After 5 Deportations From The US

A Mexican national in Branson faces up to 10 years without parole in federal prison after entering a guilty plea to one count of illegally reentering the U-S after having been deported already five previous times.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office Western District of Missouri says 40-year-old Oscar Ignacio Lopez-Ortega entered the plea, Wednesday, before District Judge M-Douglas Harpool.

Branson police tried to take Lopez-Ortega into custody at a hotel in March of 2022 but he was able to get away by jumping from a third-story balcony. He was caught eventually at a different hotel in Branson in late November of 2022. At the time, large bags filled with marijuana were found under one of the beds while Lopez-Ortega was found under the other bed.

Lopez-Ortega had most recently been deported in May-2021 from the U.S. to Mexico at Brownsville, Texas, after serving a different sentence for illegally reentering the country.