Human smuggler in AZ gets 55-month sentence in federal prison
Photographer: ABC15
Copyright 2010 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Posted: 08/29/2011
TUCSON, AZ - A Rio Rico man was sentenced on Friday to 37 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Raner C. Collins for smuggling illegal aliens.
Ernesto Esquivel-Alfonso, 57, had pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Transport and Harbor Illegal Aliens on April 13, 2010. An additional 18-month consecutive sentence was also added by Judge Collins for violating a supervised release from a prior alien smuggling conviction in 2005.
Esquivel-Alfonso had four prior convictions for smuggling going back to 1995, according to the Office of the United States Attorney.
A co-defendant, Juan Carlos Espinoza-Torres, was a driver for the smuggling organization and pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Transport and Harbor Illegal Aliens in March 2010. He received a sentence of 12 months and 1 day in prison.
U.S. Border Patrol agents conducted surveillance on a reported drop house in Rio Rico back on Feb. 18, 2010. After stopping a vehicle seen leaving the residence, agents discovered 10 undocumented aliens inside. Seven more were found inside the drop house.
The drop house was a hub to transport the undocumented aliens to California, Utah, Connecticut, and other locations inside the U.S.
Copyright 2011 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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