Convicted sex offender arrested near port of entry

A convicted sex offender was arrested by Border Patrol agents early Monday morning near the Calexico Port of Entry.

According to CBP, agents patrolling the three miles east of the Calexico Port of Entry noticed a man running north from the international border. Agents approached the man and determined that the man was illegally present in the United States.

The man was arrested and taken to the El Centro Station for processing. A records check identified the man as 57-year-old Luis Rangel-Rea, a Mexican national. Rangel-Rea is also a convicted sex offender.

Rangel-Rea had a felony rape conviction from 2008 in Santa Rosa, Calif. He was sentenced to 32 months in jail.

“Thankfully we were able to apprehend this man before he made it to the interior of the United States,” said Chief Patrol Agent Gloria I. Chavez. “Our agents are keeping heinous criminals like Rangel off the streets.”

Authorities said the man will be criminally prosecuted for re-entry after removal as a convicted sex offender.