Minnesota Man: menace to the motoring public

Pedro Cortez-Soriano was in federal court in downtown St. Paul this morning for a detention hearing.

Your correspondent was there. Mr. Cortez, age 55, got onto the federal radar back in May, when he was picked up on yet another drunk driving charge.

In June, he was indicted federally on one count of illegal re-entry of a previously deported alien.

Prosecutors have documented two previous deportations, both occurring after state felony convictions: a 2004 conviction for criminal vehicular homicide (alcohol-related) and a 2008 conviction for felony drunk driving.

In the 2025 incident, Cortez, billed out of Minneapolis, faces four counts, all misdemeanors, arising from a 7 a.m. traffic stop where he blew a 0.096. To be clear, this is a criminal case, not a traffic violation.

La cerveza es muy mal para Pedro.

To recap: three drunk driving arrests, two felony convictions, two deportations, and one homicide. At the end of today’s hearing, the judge determined that Mr. Cortez poses an on-going danger to the public.

The next state court appearance for Mr. Cortez is scheduled for August 29 on this latest drunk driving case. Put his down as a “maybe” for that date.

Yesterday in federal court in St. Paul, Samuel Cuevas-Martinez entered a guilty plea for illegal re-entry of a previously deported alien.

Prosecutors documented seven (7) prior deportations for Mr. Cuevas. He got back onto the federal radar after a recent arrest for assault in Ramsey County.

After yesterday’s guilty plea and sentencing, Mr. Cuevas now awaits his eighth deportation back to his native Mexico.

¡Adiós, Samuel!