Deported Dominican national who was charged again for crimes in Massachusetts, sentenced Thursday

BOSTON – A Dominican national previously residing in Lawrence was sentenced Thursday for illegal reentry after deportation.

Jose Urena Vasquez, 42, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf to eight months in prison – to be served consecutively with pending charges in Essex Superior Court – and three years of supervised release. Upon completion of his sentence, Urena Vasquez will be placed into removal proceedings and deported to the Dominican Republic.

In 2008, immigration officials encountered Urena Vasquez, who was serving an 11 month sentence for drug distribution in the Essex County House of Corrections. Upon completion of his sentence, Urena Vasquez was placed into removal proceedings, and on March 25, 2009, he was deported to the Dominican Republic.

Sometime after his removal, Urena Vasquez illegally reentered the United States. In 2018, he was charged in Lawrence District Court with armed assault to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm, but fled the district. In July 2018, Urena Vasquez was located and arrested in Florida on the state charges and returned to Massachusetts to face trial. In October 2018, he was indicted federally for unlawful reentry of a deported alien, and pleaded guilty in May 2019.

Urena Vasquez is currently being held without bail in the Essex County Superior Court.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Essex District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett; and Todd Lyons, Acting Field Office Director, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), New England Field Office made the announcement today. Assistance was also provided by the U.S. Marshals Services’ Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.