By Michael Donoghue
Vermont News First
DERBY LINE — An illegal immigrant from Venezuela, who possessed a loaded .22-caliber semiautomatic and a silencer without a serial number while sneaking across the international border at the Haskell Library and Opera House in Derby Line, has pleaded guilty in federal court to gun and immigration charges.
Julio Cesar Romero-Paredes, 46, will continue to be detained pending his sentencing in U.S. District Court by Judge Mary Kay Lanthier in Rutland on Aug. 27.
Romero-Paredes admitted in court last week that he drove a Georgia-registered motorcycle around the barriers outside the historic library about 12:50 a.m. on Nov. 7, 2024, and tried to avoid legal reporting to enter the country, records show.
He also admitted in court to unlawful possession of a firearm by an illegal alien after being ordered removed from the United States, the U.S. Border Patrol said.
Romero-Paredes was caught as the Border Patrol was involved in another illicit border crossing case nearby at the time. Records show they asked Customs and Border Protection Officers for help intercepting the motorcycle.
CBP was able to stop the motorcycle about five miles south of the Canadian border and found the driver, Romero-Paredes, was carrying the handgun with a bullet in the chamber and a fully loaded magazine, officials said. They said there also was a silencer with no serial number that could be threaded onto the barrel of the firearm.
The federal agents also found multiple knives, a collapsible steel baton, several handcuff keys, zip ties, and three cell phones on the motorcycle, according to Border Patrol Agent James Loomis, who is assigned to the statewide Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Task Force in Vermont.
Romero-Paredes had about 50 rounds of .22-caliber ammunition and about 30 rounds of 9-mm ammunition, Loomis said.
Loomis said in a sworn affidavit that Romero-Paredes was granted asylum in 2008, but it was terminated in 2014 after officials determined the immigrant’s application contained fraudulent documents. Romero-Paredes eventually withdrew his asylum application on March 18, 2022, when an Immigration Judge in Dallas, Texas, ordered the Venezuelan removed from the United States.
There is no record of Romero-Paredes being removed, but surveillance video on Aug. 7, 2024 does show a man riding a distinctive motorcycle between the international barriers at the Haskell Library. This time, he was headed out of the United States and into Canada. The distinctive bike matched the vehicle he was riding when caught in November 2024, coming back across the border, Loomis said.
Loomis said the Haskell Library, which straddles the international border, is frequently used by individuals and smuggling organizations for illicit cross-border activity. Organizations exploit this by moving humans and illicit goods into and out of the United States. He said both the U.S. and Canada have used signage in multiple languages to dissuade smuggling.
The administration of President Donald Trump has worked with Immigration officials here and in Canada to increase proper monitoring near the Haskell Library.
Officials said there was no lawful reason for Romero-Paredes to be in the United States in November.
Loomis said the investigation into the origin of the loaded .22-caliber handgun showed it had been purchased in Lawrenceville, Ga., from a licensed gun dealer on July 3, 2021, by another person along with a Glock 9-mm pistol the same day. Loomis said the gun buyer also purchased three other pistols on April 23, 2022.
Federal Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle had ordered Romero-Paredes jailed after his arrest because he was a danger to the community and a risk to flee. Doyle said no known conditions would ensure Romero-Paredes would show for future court hearings.
Doyle said the weight of the evidence was strong, Romero-Paredes lacked stable employment and significant community or family ties to Vermont. Doyle said Romero-Paredes also lacked legal status in the United States, and his ties appeared to be outside the country. The judge said Romero-Paredes also faced possible removal after he completes serving any jail time.
When sentenced by Judge Lanthier this summer, Romero-Paredes faces up to 15½ years in prison, up to 3 years of federal supervised release, and up to $255,000 in fines for the two convictions.