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Springfield, Missouri - Oscar Ignacio Lopez-Ortega, 40, a Mexican national previously deported five times, has pleaded guilty to one count of illegal reentry into the U.S. and admitted to illegally reentering the United States for the sixth time.

Key Points

• On March 1, 2022, Branson, Missouri police officers attempted to apprehend Lopez-Ortega at a local hotel, but he escaped by jumping from a third-story balcony and fleeing into nearby woods. A police dog search failed to locate him.
• Lopez-Ortega was finally captured on November 26, 2022, at another Branson hotel. The arrest occurred as police were assisting a Missouri Department of Social Services, Children’s Division worker who was in contact with Lopez-Ortega's wife and children.
• During the hotel room search, officers found large bags of marijuana under one bed and Lopez-Ortega hiding under another.
• His most recent deportation prior to this incident was on May 17, 2021, from the United States to Mexico through Brownsville, Texas, following a prison term for a similar offense.
• Lopez-Ortega now faces a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole under federal statutes.