Fellow Milwaukee police officers knew him as Jose Morales.But after an anonymous phone tip this winter, an investigation revealed that the Morales in question is actually dead, and the officer is a cousin, Oscar Ayala-Cornejo, 24. He is an illegal immigrant from Mexico who had assumed Morales's identity as a high school student in 1999.
In court papers filed June 15, Ayala-Cornejo agreed to plead guilty to a federal felony charge of falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen. Under the plea agreement, he will face six to 12 months in jail. The charges can carry up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Ayala-Cornejo has agreed to leave the United States after his jail term. A sentencing date has not been set.
The police department suspended Ayala-Cornejo from his job after he was arrested on May 30 and has now taken him off the payroll. Brother Alexander Ayala, 26, a U.S. citizen who is an officer in the same South Milwaukee district, has been placed on administrative duty. Police are reportedly investigating who else may have known about Ayala-Cornejo's identity.
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