OAKLAND — U.S. attorneys have charged a previously deported Mexican citizen with reentering the country illegally, after police found him sleeping inside a Bay Point marijuana grow house with a rifle at his feet, next to a life-size statue of the so-called “death saint.”

Fernando Perez-Sanchez faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison if convicted. Federal authorities say he was deported to Mexico in July 2016. Charges were filed on Friday.

The federal charges stem from an incident in May, when local police and homeland security agents conducted a probation search on the 2900 block of Clearland Circle, in Bay Point, records show. An affidavit written by one agent says the occupant gave authorities permission to search the entire property.

In the backyard, police found numerous marijuana plants and gardening pots, as well as at least three surveillance cameras apparently rigged by the occupants. There was also a wooden shed, with the silhouettes of marijuana plants spray-painted onto the doors, authorities said.

Inside the shed was an indoor grow operation. Perez-Sanchez was found sleeping on the floor of a small room. Police found an AK-47, a pistol and two .22-caliber rifles inside the shed, according to the affidavit.

“Immediately next to (Perez-Sanchez), there was an approximately 6-foot-tall statue of the ‘Santa Muerte’ spirit, outfitted with a tunic with U.S. currency print, and several lit candles at its feet, burning in an altar-like manner,” the agent wrote in a federal affidavit. “Based on my training and experience, I know the Santa Muerte is often venerated by individuals involved in drug trafficking, and drug traffickers often keep images of the spirit close when conducting drug trafficking activities.”

Authorities interviewed Perez-Sanchez, who told them that he was homeless and that he had gotten drunk the night before and fallen asleep in the shed. He said he did not know anything about the marijuana grow. Later that day, a man who identified himself as Perez-Sanchez’s co-worker stopped by the home and said he’d been picking up Perez-Sanchez there for weeks.

Perez-Sanchez had been convicted in California of gun possession and taking a vehicle without consent in 2015, and sentenced to 192 days in jail, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Agents conducted DNA swabs on the guns and may ask federal prosecutors to file additional charges when the results come back.