This Kennewick drug trafficker was deported, then caught at the Mexican border. So why is he back here?

A former Kennewick man deported to Mexico after serving time for trafficking drugs is back in a Tri-Cities jail on allegations he re-entered the United States illegally.

Francisco Villa Meraz, 41, was arrested three months ago just over the border in California.

He is a citizen of Mexico, and he allegedly admitted to a U.S. Border Patrol agent that he is not supposed to be in this country.

When Villa Meraz was sentenced in August 2011 in a Richland federal courtroom, he was told that he was prohibited from coming back to the United States "without advance legal permission" from the attorney general.

Once federal prosecutors became aware of his return, they requested a warrant to have Villa Meraz sent back to Washington state for violating his supervised release.

He appeared earlier this week in U.S. District Court. Magistrate Judge Mary K. Dimke ordered him jailed until a revocation hearing, set for July 20.

Federal prosecutors want Villa Meraz to serve more time for the violation and have his probation period extended, possibly for life.

In the meantime, he's in the Benton County jail as a contract inmate for the U.S. Marshals Service.

Villa Meraz was indicted in March 2011 for distributing 500 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine, and five kilograms or more of a mixture containing cocaine.

According to the plea agreement two months later, he conspired with other people to traffic the drugs between January 2002 and November 2010.

A search of his Kennewick home in November 2010 turned up $20,000 in cash, packages with cocaine residue, scales and drug ledgers that listed customers involved in the distribution ring.

A 9 mm pistol also was found in his bedroom closet.

In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to dismiss two other cases for alien in possession of a firearm and being an alien in the United States after deportation/removal.

Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson sentenced Villa Meraz to five years and 10 months in federal prison. He did more than 4 1/2 years, including the time he was locked up while awaiting trial.

Villa Meraz's supervision started in December 2015 after his release. It's set to end December 2020.

Court records show he "was removed to Mexico as part of the Alien Transfer Exit Program through San Ysidro, Calif." It appears from the documents that he was deported more than two years ago.

A special condition of his supervision required Villa Meraz to get legal permission before he returned to the United States. If he re-entered, he was required to report to the probation office within 72 hours.

The petition for his warrant states that Villa Meraz was contacted by a Border Patrol agent on April 2 in Calexico, Calif. He admitted entered the country illegally, the petition states.

In the Richland courtroom this week, Villa Meraz waived his right to a detention hearing.

However, defense attorney Paul Shelton said they may request one before his next court appearance on the allegations of violating release.