By Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First
An illegal immigrant was carrying a fully loaded firearm, a gun suppressor, extra ammunition and handcuff keys when he unlawfully entered the United States by driving a motorcycle around the international barriers outside the Haskell Library in Derby Line, federal authorities in Vermont said.
Julio Cesar Romero-Paredes, 46, pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Burlington last week to unlawfully possessing a loaded .22-caliber semi-automatic pistol while being an illegal alien in the United States.
He also denied a second felony charge of being in the United States while an Immigration removal order was still outstanding.
During a search of the motorcycle and the bags affixed to it, investigators found a .22 caliber semiautomatic pistol with a fully loaded magazine, court records show, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reported.
Five additional .22-caliber magazines with about 50 bullets, two Glock 9-mm magazines loaded with 30 rounds, and a suspected suppressor that could be threaded onto the barrel of the .22-caliber were found, the ATF said.
Agents also found multiple knives, a collapsible steel baton, several handcuff keys, zip ties and three cell phones, according to Border Patrol Agent James Loomis, who is assigned to the statewide ATF Task Force in Vermont.
Loomis said Romero-Paredes is believed to have entered the United States initially in 2005 on a visitor’s visa and never left when it expired.
Loomis said an immigration judge in Dallas, Texas, issued a removal order for Romero-Paredes in March 2022, but it appears it was never properly executed. There does appear to be a video of Romero-Paredes passing from the U.S. into Canada by using his motorcycle to bypass the barriers outside the Haskell Library at the International border on Aug. 7.
Officials said There was no lawful reason for Romero-Paredes to be in the United States this month.
Loomis said the latest case unfolded this way:
Romero-Paredes entered the United States on a distinctive motorcycle that bypassed the international barriers outside the historic Haskell Library at about 12:50 a.m. on Nov. 7.
The Border Patrol, which was involved in another illicit border crossing case nearby at the time, asked field officers from Customs and Border Protection to monitor the situation.
The motorcycle entered Interstate 91 from Caswell Avenue in Derby Line, about a half mile from the library. Customs and Border Protection stopped the vehicle about five miles south at exit 28 in Derby.
The motorcycle, with a State of Georgia registration plate, was pulled over, and Romero-Paredes was identified as the driver.
Romero-Paredes claimed he was from Venezuela and maintained he was pending asylum, court records note.
Officials said that Romero-Paredes and his belongings were taken to the U.S. Border Patrol Station in Newport, where he was turned over to the Border Patrol for processing and further investigation.
Records show that the asylum claim proved to be false.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Cate, in seeking the defendant’s detention, said Romero-Paredes’ initial illegal presence in the country and his recent illegal re-entry show no interest in following lawful court orders.
Cate also argued the weapons, ammo, baton, and handcuffs also raised questions about whether he was suitable to be released. “There is no lawful and non-dangerous explanation for the defendant’s possession for these items…” she wrote in her detention request.
The government requested a search warrant last week for the 3 cell phones, which investigators seized from Romero-Paredes on Nov. 7. Cate has asked that the affidavit for the warrant be sealed until it can be executed.
It was unclear why a sealing order was needed when the three phones were in the custody of the Border Patrol in Newport.
Cate had yet to file a motion on Friday to unseal the document.
If convicted, Romero-Paredes faces up to 15 years in prison on the firearm charge and up to 2 years on the illegal immigration charge.