DERBY LINE — A Venezuelan national faces federal charges after crossing the U.S.-Canadian border illegally on a motorcycle near the Haskell Library in Derby Line, while carrying multiple weapons and ammunition, prosecutors said.
Julio Cesar Romero-Paredes, 46, was charged with unlawful firearm possession as an illegal alien and illegal reentry after deportation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.
According to court records, Customs and Border Protection officers arrested Romero-Paredes around 12:50 a.m. on November 7 after he allegedly drove around border barriers on a Georgia-registered motorcycle. Officers stopped him near Exit 28 on Interstate 91.
A search of the motorcycle revealed a loaded Walther P22 pistol, multiple magazines containing approximately 80 rounds of ammunition, a suspected suppressor, handcuff keys, knives, a collapsible baton, zip ties, and cell phones, authorities said.
Immigration records show Romero-Paredes entered the U.S. in 2005 on a visitor’s visa and was ordered removed by a Dallas immigration judge in March 2022.
If convicted, he faces up to 15 years imprisonment on the firearm charge and two years for illegal reentry. His initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle has not been scheduled.
U.S. Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest praised CBP’s quick apprehension and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ investigative support.
