ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) – A man from Honduras, living in this country illegally after having been deported twice, was sentenced at federal court in Roanoke on Tuesday, January 6, 2026.
Brayan Sanchez-Varela of Honduras was sentenced on January 6, 2026. He pled guilty two charges in December 2025.(Western Virginia Regional Jail)
Brayan Sanchez-Varela pleaded guilty in December 2025 to one count of possessing a gun as an alien illegally and unlawfully present in the United States, and one count of re-entering the United States after having been previously deported, according to the US Attorney’s office.
Sanchez-Varela was apprehended by officials in Radford after he was seen shooting a gun into the New River while he was spearfishing along with others illegally, according to court documents.
Officials say he first got in contact with immigration authorities in May 2011; he was deported in June 2011. Sanchez-Varela again encountered immigration authorities in September 2016; he was again deported later that month.
After his second deportation and prior to his arrest in December 2025, Sanchez-Varela made it back to America, illegally, and without authorization, the U.S. Attorney’s Office Western District of Virginia says.
The case was investigated by:
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and ExplosivesU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE)Virginia’s Department of Wildlife Resources’ Law Enforcement DivisionThe Radford Police Department
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