David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New England, announced on Apr. 8 that John O’Rourke, also known as John Casey, a 27-year-old citizen of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, has been charged by federal criminal complaint with illegally reentering the United States after being deported.
O’Rourke appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert M. Spector in New Haven and was ordered detained pending further proceedings.
According to court documents and statements made in court, O’Rourke has used several aliases including “John O’Rouke,” “Michael Casey,” “John Joyce,” “Robert Davanzo,” “David Collins,” and “James McCormack.” On October 7, 2024, U.S. Border Patrol apprehended him under an alias near Fort Covington, New York—close to the Canadian border—alongside four other individuals. An investigation revealed that he did not have legal status in the U.S., leading to his removal by foot from New York to Canada on October 15, 2024.
It is further alleged that on February 18, 2025, O’Rourke was arrested under the name John Casey in Bridgeport, Connecticut for state offenses including evading responsibility and breach of peace. Authorities say he has pending cases from arrests under various aliases in Suffolk County (New York), Everett (Washington), Linden (New Jersey), Snohomish County (Washington), as well as a pending arrest warrant for larceny issued by a Connecticut Superior Court judge in Danbury. He is also sought by law enforcement authorities in Surrey, England.
O’Rourke was arrested again on March 2, 2026 in Pleasonton, California based on an arrest warrant from Torrington charging him with larceny in the first degree and related home improvement fraud offenses. He has remained detained since this arrest.
If convicted of unlawful reentry into the United States after deportation or removal following conviction for commission of three or more misdemeanors involving drugs or crimes against persons—or a felony—he faces up to two years imprisonment.
U.S. Attorney Sullivan said: “A complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.” The matter continues to be investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel.
This case falls under Operation Take Back America—a nationwide initiative utilizing Department of Justice resources aimed at addressing illegal immigration issues.