A Mexican citizen pleaded guilty to illegally entering the United States nearly three months after he was arrested in Glacier National Park.
Luis Alejandro Lopez-Solis, 36, admitted to illegally entering the country in U.S. District Court in Great Falls on Dec. 11. Lopez-Solis faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He will be sentenced in February.
According to federal law enforcement officials, Lopez-Solis had been deported in 2017 after being convicted of passport fraud. In September, Lopez-Solis flew from Mexico to Canada and rented a car to drive to Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta. He then walked south into the United States before being spotted by a park ranger, who notified U.S. Border Patrol. Border Patrol searched the area and found Lopez-Solis wet and shivering near Goat Haunt after apparently falling in a creek.
Lopez-Solis was apprehended and taken to the St. Mary Border Patrol Station for questioning. Lopez-Solis told law enforcement that he had planned to hike to Chief Mountain where his girlfriend was going to pick him up.
Lopez-Solis remains in custody.