Pinal County sheriff's deputy arrests man deported 5 times

CASA GRANDE, AZ - Pinal county deputies have arrested a man authorities say has been deported from the U.S. five times.

According to the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, Jorge Luis Morales-Espinoza, 37, was a passenger in a car stopped by a deputy last Friday night in Coolidge.

The driver, 36-year-old Deyanira Cordero, did not have a valid driver’s license and when the deputy checked for warrants on Morales-Espinoza the deputy found that he had a federal U.S. Marshal felony warrant for probation violation related to his entering the United States.

While he was being taken into custody Morales-Espinoza resisted arrest and fought with deputies in an attempt to get away, officials say.

He was eventually taken to the ground, but not before a deputy injured his hand in the struggle.

Cordero admitted knowing that Morales-Espinoza was in the country illegally and was arrested for hindering prosecution by harboring a wanted felon.

Officials say that when Cordero’s brother arrived at the scene he told deputies she was also in the country illegally.

Morales-Espinoza was found to have been deported from the U.S. on five separate occasions since 2005. He was last deported in December 2012, according to the PCSO.

Officials say his criminal history shows he has numerous arrests and convictions in Arizona, some of which include extreme DUI and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.