MARIETTA - A Cobb grand jury indicted Jessica Colotl on a felony charge of making a false statement on Thursday.

Colotl is an illegal immigrant who attends Kennesaw State University, and was the focus of intense scrutiny in 2010 after a traffic stop landed her on the radar of immigration officials.

The felony charge stems from statements made to Cobb Sheriff's deputies when she was booked in at Cobb Jail for driving without a license. During the book-in, she gave her address as an apartment in Duluth, though she did not live there, sheriff's officials content. They also insist the telephone number she gave the deputies was false.

District Attorney Pat Head said his office presented the charge for indictment "because we believe the evidence was sufficient to present to a grand jury."

Head, though, did not personally present the case to the grand jury - a group of citizens who decide if there is enough evidence for prosecutors to proceed with a charge. Assistant District Attorney Greg Epstein is prosecuting this case.

The case has been assigned to a Judge Mary Staley in Cobb Superior Court, though no trial date had been set.

But even if Colotl is ultimately convicted of making false statements, her punishment is unlikely to be harsh. Probation would not be uncommon, Head said.

Attorneys for Colotl did not immediately respond to inquiries for comment. Lawyers from the Norcross-based firm of Hernan, Taylor and Lee represented Colotl in the traffic case.

Colotl's troubles began March 29, 2010, when she was stopped by KSU police officer Sgt. Kevin Kinsey for allegedly impeding the flow of traffic. She told him she had a Mexican driver's license, but couldn't find it. When she failed to produce it by the next day, she was arrested and booked into the Cobb County Jail on charges of driving without a license and blocking traffic.

The jail participates in the federal 287(g) program, aimed at fighting illegal immigration. Colotl was turned over to immigration authorities, who moved her to the Etowah County Detention Center in Gadsden, Ala., on April 1.

With the help of KSU attorneys, Colotl was granted a one-year deferment, allowing her to finish her studies at KSU. She was released by federal immigration authorities on May 5, 2010.

In November, she was convicted in Cobb State Court of driving without a license and sentenced to three days in jail and fined $1,000. She has appealed to the Georgia Court of Appeals, which could hear oral arguments in May and render a decision by the end of the year.

Colotl has said she expects to graduate from KSU in May. She is majoring in political science, with a minor in French and hopes to become an attorney, she said previously.