A Jamaican man, referred to as ‘John Doe’ by US officials, was sentenced last Thursday to four years and three months in federal prison for obstructing his deportation in the US.
He was found guilty by a federal jury on February 15.
It is reported that US authorities still have not ascertained the real name of the convicted Jamaican.
According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, the man has used the identities Freddie Davis, Dave Davis, Patrick Melbourne, Frank Douglas, Ricardo Jones, Joseph Gordon, and Danny Brooks throughout his illegal stay in the United States, which began in 1985.
Testimony and evidence presented at trial revealed that Doe was first encountered by immigration authorities in January 1985 in Miami, when he tried to enter the US from Jamaica by claiming to be a US citizen named Freddie Davis.
The man was allowed to return to Jamaica voluntarily.
Doe again attempted to enter the US in February 1985, this time in West Palm Beach, Florida, and claimed to be a citizen of the Bahamas.
He used a fraudulent Bahamian passport in the name of Joseph Gordon. When this was discovered, he was deported to Jamaica.
Three years later, after completing his jail sentence, he was encountered by US immigration authorities in Dallas. Doe claimed to be a US citizen under a new name once more.
He served another jail sentence in Florida before he was taken by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Miami in June 2018.
The US and Jamaican officials have attempted to determine Doe’s true identity. The man was repeatedly warned that he could be prosecuted if he continued to obstruct his deportation.
According to reports, when he was asked by an ICE officer what his real name is, he responded “Only God knows my name.”
It was also reported that the Jamaican consulate informed ICE that it could not issue a travel document for Doe, because there is no conclusive evidence that he is a citizen of Jamaica.
ICE scheduled various interviews between April 9 and April 17, 2019, but Doe refused to provide any information to determine his true identity.
Reports are that between June 20 and July 23, 2019, ICE conducted recorded interviews with Doe in an attempt to acquire biographical information that may lead to his identification.
“During these interviews, after stating that his name was Freddie Davis, Doe refused to provide any other information, saying ICE already had all of the information they needed,” the US Attorney’s Office stated.
The man was then accused of impeding his deportation under the name ‘John Doe,’ for which he was convicted.
