An illegal alien convicted of causing a head-on car crash in Butler County, Ohio, that injured a volunteer cheerleading coach and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital nurse pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally reentering the United States.
Johan Perez-Ventura, 27, who is from Guatemala, was deported in February 2019 near Houston, Texas. However, state and federal officials said he reentered the country at some point.
Perez-Ventura was arrested on local charges in Butler County. Authorities said he was driving a 2013 Hyundai Elantra northbound on Nov. 20, 2025, on State Route 747 in Butler County’s Liberty Township that crossed the center line and struck a southbound 2023 Honda Civic driven by Courtney Steinmetz.
“During the investigation, deputies observed an open container of alcohol inside the vehicle, along with multiple indicators of intoxication,” the Butler County Sheriff’s Office said in a release at the time. “The driver had no identification and provided a false name and several different dates of birth.”
WKRC-TV, citing a GoFundMe for her, reported that Courtney Steinmetz suffered broken bones, a fractured sternum and a shattered vertebra in the wreck.
Fox News reported that at the time of the November 2025 wreck, he had four prior DUIs. In May, he was convicted in Butler County of aggravated vehicular assault and sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
“This low-life piece of s— named Johen, who has been arrested [four times] for DUIs … he had alcohol in the car, had to be cut out of the car, [went] to the hospital,” Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones said in a video posted to the Butler County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page at the time, per Fox.
“You know who pays for that. We do,” the sheriff added. “… It’s not his first time. … He’s used to this. He was just going to be in the wind. …Not this time. We waited and then [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] made the apprehension.”
According to the feds, Perez-Ventura was convicted of several other counts, including assault and a pair of convictions for operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs in October 2024 and September 2023.
Perez-Ventura pleaded guilty to the federal charge before U.S. District Judge Jeffery P. Hopkins and faces up to two years in federal prison for illegally reentering the country. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative to fight illegal immigration, eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from violent crime.
