HONOLULU — A man from Mexico who twice this year left the country under the observation of immigration officials is in custody again in Hawaii.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports 37-year-old Palemon Delatorre pleaded not guilty Tuesday to one count of re-entering the country after deportation.
Delatorre told federal agents he re-entered without permission because he has three children who are U.S. citizens in Kona.
Kona police arrested Delatorre in November. He previously had been convicted of driving offenses.
Immigration agents charged him with immigration violations and he left voluntarily Feb. 6.
By April he had returned and was arrested for theft of items from a grocery store. The government paid for him to fly to Mexico.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Hino says he doesn’t know how Delatorre again reached Hawaii.