Five individuals who had previously been deported from the United States have been indicted by a federal grand jury for illegal reentry, according to an announcement by United States Attorney John P. Heekin. The indictments follow recent immigration enforcement actions in the Northern District of Florida.
The defendants include Narciso Oswaldo Moreno-Zepeda, 42, of Honduras, who was found in Escambia County in June 2025 after being deported in 2014. His trial is scheduled for October 6, 2025, before United States District Judge M. Casey Rogers.
Hector Chaves-Morales, 27, of Guatemala, was located in Walton County in May 2025 after his previous deportation in 2016. His case is pending.
Franklin David Zelaya-Funez, 32, also from Honduras, was found in Escambia County in June 2025 following a prior deportation in 2021. This matter is also pending.
Kevin Noel Ochoa-Venegas, 32, of Honduras, was discovered in Bay County in April 2025 after having been deported twice—in both 2016 and 2021. His trial will take place on September 22, 2025 before United States District Judge Mark Walker.
Edwin Martinez-Cruz, 38, of Honduras, was located in Escambia County in July 2025 after being deported in 2022. His trial is set for October 20, 2025 before United States District Judge T. Kent Wetherell II.
If convicted of illegal reentry after deportation under federal law (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline), each defendant faces up to two years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. However, Ochoa-Venegas could face up to twenty years due to allegations involving prior convictions that qualify him for an increased sentence.
Investigations were conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement and Removal Operations units with support from local sheriff’s offices: Escambia County Sheriff’s Office; Bay County Sheriff’s Office; and Walton County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Jessica S. Etherton, Alicia H. Forbes, Brooke DiSalvo and Justin M. Keen are prosecuting these cases.
“An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt,” the statement noted. “All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
These cases are part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline), an initiative aimed at addressing illegal immigration and targeting transnational criminal organizations through collaboration between the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida operates as one of ninety-four such offices nationwide under the direction of the Attorney General; more information can be found at http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
