Man Admits To Illegal Reentry After Stabbing In Hennepin County

ST. PAUL, MN — A Mexican national has pleaded guilty to illegal reentry to the United States after an aggravated felony conviction for a crime of violence, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick.

Jonathan Chavez-Galarza, 28, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court before Judge Donovan W. Frank on one count of illegal reentry to the U.S. after the commission of an aggravated felony.

This case results from an investigation conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Green is prosecuting the case.

According to court documents, Chavez-Galarza was deported from the U.S. on July 15, 2020, following his 2018 conviction in Hennepin County for second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.

In that case, Chavez-Galarza was convicted of stabbing a victim multiple times with a knife.

Chavez-Galarza served a 36-month imprisonment for that offense, before his removal.

On Dec. 20, 2022, the defendant was removed a second time, following his conviction in the Southern District of Texas for illegal reentry.

Following this last removal to Mexico, Chavez-Galarza "knowingly, voluntarily, and unlawfully" returned to the U.S., authorities said.

Around May 24, 2024, and several times afterward, the defendant was observed near his residence in Minneapolis and around the Twin Cities metro area, authorities said.

Editor's note: The headline of this article has been updated.