Jamaican man deported from US gets prison time for illegal re-entry

A Jamaican man who was previously deported from the United States (US) has been sentenced to nearly two years in prison for illegally re-entering America, authorities there have disclosed.

Dwayne Claud Singh, 39, was handed a 22-month sentence by US District Judge Vernon Oliver in Hartford, Connecticut on Wednesday, according to a statement from the US Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut.

He pleaded guilty to unlawful entry on October 4 last year.

Singh was convicted in Connecticut Superior Court in 2014 for crimes related to drugs, weapons possession and forgery and sentenced to five years in prison, the statement revealed.

He was deported in 2018.

But the US Attorney's Office said Singh illegally re-entered the US and obtained a driver's licence in the state of California in the name of "Kevin Anthony Smith.

Further, it said he used the false identity and fake driver's license to get employment and insurance coverage on two motor vehicles in Connecticut.

Singh also had an active warrant in the state of Connecticut for breach of the peace and threatening offences at the time he was arrested.

- Livern Barrett

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