Oscar Zuniga-Alcala is our Minnesota Man of the Day for December 15. He is scheduled to appear in federal court in downtown Minneapolis this morning to plead guilty to a felony count of illegal re-entry of a previously-deported alien. Zuniga had been deported back in March 2007, but returned to the U.S.
He was indicted back in March, but the case has lingered for so long because he underwent a series of psychological tests back in the spring to determine if he were fit to stand trial. His original attorney left the case, adding further delay.
A competency hearing was held in August. At today’s hearing, Zuniga will need to convince the judge he is competent enough to enter into a plea deal. Complicating the matter, he requires the assistance of a Spanish-language interpreter at his court appearances.
It appears that Zuniga was convicted of this same offense back in 2010 in Texas, also via a plea deal. He appealed his prison sentence from that case but was denied. It appears that he further appealed to the Supreme Court, who declined to take his case.
Zuniga is also being held on a state-level misdemeanor domestic abuse charge.
If his plea deal is accepted, sentencing will occur at a later date.
