Change of plea hearing set for Carthage man charged with illegal reentry

A change of plea hearing has been scheduled for 12:15 p.m. Thursday in U. S. District Court in Springfield for a Guatemalan native who had been living in Carthage and is charged with illegal reentry into the United States.

Selvin Mejia-Ramos, 32, was charged in a one-count indictment June 17 with illegal reentry by a previously removed alien. The indictment, which replaced a criminal complaint filed on May 29, 2025, charges that Mejia-Ramos had previously been removed from the United States at least once, on April 15, 2020.

Mejia-Ramos was put on an ICE detainer after the Carthage Police Department arrested him for a traffic violation May 17, according to a probable cause affidavit in that case.

The government filed a detention motion later asking that Mejia-Ramos be held while awaiting trial because he is a flight risk and has four convictions for driving while intoxicated.