Mexican man sentenced for being in Arizona illegally

TUCSON, Ariz. -- A convicted felon from Mexico who was arrested for being in Arizona illegally has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison.

Prosecutors said Friday that 44-year-old Jose Luis Zavala-Vasquez will be formally removed from the U.S. following his 77-month incarceration and banned for life from all legalization processes.

Zavala-Vasquez is from Nueva Italia, Michoacan, Mexico. He was apprehended by Sonoita Station Border Patrol agents last March for attempting to illegally re-enter the United States.

During processing at the Sonoita Station, a fingerprint identification database showed Zavala-Vasquez was convicted in 2003 in Florida for assault with a deadly weapon and sentenced to a year in prison. Record checks also revealed he was removed from the U.S. through San Ysidro, Calif.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)