Illegal alien charged with stealing ID (Chambersburg Public Opinion)

Illegal alien charged with stealing ID

HARRISBURG, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009 -- A man from Mexico arrested in June in eastern Adams County has been charged with being in the country illegally.

Known only as Juan Castro and with an unknown age, the man was indicted today on charges of making a false claim to U.S. citizenship and aggravated identity theft. He faces life imprisonment and fines up to $750,000.

When Eastern Adams Regional Police stopped him for driving offenses, Castro told them he had been born in California, according to the U.S. Attorney Dennis C. Pfannenschmidt in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Castro later admitted to Immigration and Custom Enforcement detention agents that he was not a U.S. citizen. He spoke through an Spanish-speaking officer at the Adams County Detention Center.

Castro allegedly had been using the stolen identity to obtain various forms of identification, including a Pennsylvania driver's license, according to the U.S. Attorney.