Undocumented man linked to Dugan case takes plea deal

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The undocumented immigrant linked to the arrest of a Milwaukee County judge accepted a plea deal, agreeing to be deported from the United States after serving a federal prison term for returning to the country illegally, according to court records.

On June 23, U.S. District Court Eastern District of Wisconsin records show Eduardo Flores-Ruiz entered into a plea agreement, admitting he returned to the country illegally after initially being departed in January 2013. The document said he returned to the United States through Arizona at an undetermined date.

Immigration officials learned about Flores-Ruiz’s return to the United States after Milwaukee Police arrested him in a domestic violence case involving his roommates on March 12.

His fingerprints in the arrest set off an alert in a federal database linking to his 2013 deportation. Records show immigration officials signed a federal arrest warrant April 17.

The following day, immigration agents showed up to the Milwaukee County Courthouse, where Flores-Ruiz was scheduled to appear during a hearing before Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan.

That day, according to state and federal court records, Dugan is suspected of directing Flores-Ruiz and his attorney through a side door leading to the hallway in the courthouse, where surveillance video shows the pair getting on a public elevator, with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent following.

Dugan was later indicted on federal obstruction charges in relation to the case. Her legal team, through court records, argued she is protected by judicial immunity as part of her official acts as a sitting judge. No day has been set for Dugan’s federal trial.

Flores-Ruiz is due in federal court on Aug. 4. The maximum prison sentence is two years. Meanwhile, his domestic violence case is still moving through the Milwaukee County court system.