SUMNER COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — An immigrant from Mexico, living in the country illegally, is now behind bars in Tennessee after he allegedly raped a child.
Gallatin Police arrested 38-year-old Pedro Ambriz Aug. 4.
Lt. Lamar Ballard said keeping the man behind bars is a top priority since Ambriz is considered a flight risk to leave the country.
“Yes, if this individual flees, and we have charges, or we are able to gather more charges, and he is in Mexico that makes it very difficult for us.”
According to Ballard, Ambriz has five aliases and has been using at least three different birth dates.
“It’s very difficult, because you don’t know who you are dealing with. It’s hard to track the history of these individuals, who use aliases and different dates of birth.”
Detectives said he is in the United States illegally and was deported at least once before, in 2019. At that time, police said he was was arrested on drug and domestic assault charges in Robertson County
Ballard continued, “It looks like he has been deported twice, and I do know of at least once, that was in 2019, after an allegation of molestation of a child.”
How and when the 38-year-old reentered the United States illegally is not known.
“These cases are sad and difficult cases to work,” Ballard said. “This compounds the investigation, when you know you have an individual who can flee across the border, and they are undocumented, and you have different names, and multiple addresses and dates of birth.”
Police said that, despite his illegal status, Ambriz will serve his full sentence if convicted.
“That’s correct. That’s our goal. To make sure he pays for this crime.”
Ambriz is currently in the Sumner County jail under a quarter million-dollar bond. The investigation is still active.
If anyone has any information on Pedro Ambriz, the Gallatin police would like to hear from you.
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials did not immediately reply to requests for comment.