SIOUX CITY – This sadistic illegal alien put a machete to a person’s throat, victimized children, and somehow made his was to a wholesome Northern Iowa community to spread his misery, but thanks to Operation Take Back America he is destined for 4 years of hot showers in a stone cold federal prison before he is shipped way, way south.
David Pineda-Medrano, age 39, from Guatemala but had been residing in Rolfe, Iowa, received a 4-year prison term after an October 29, 2025, guilty plea to one count of being a felony found after illegal reentry.
At the plea and sentencing hearings, Pineda-Medrano admitted he had illegally reentered the United States after a June 2022 removal. Prior to his removal in 2022, he was convicted of Attempted First Degree Sexual Abuse and Sexual Abuse of a Child or Minor in the District of Columbia and served more than four years in prison. At some point after his removal, defendant illegally reentered the United States. He was found in Rolfe after he was arrested and convicted of Assault Causing Bodily Injury or Mental Illness when he used an 18-inch machete to strike another in the head with the flat side of the blade, which caused injury, and then placed the blade against the victim’s throat and threated to kill him.
Pineda-Medrano was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Pineda-Medrano was sentenced to 48 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. He is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and investigated by Enforcement and Removal Office of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Bureau.