A Mexican man, Ramon Villalobos-Lopez, was sentenced last week to 46 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Márquez previously sentenced co-defendants Javier Garcia-Mondragon, 37, of Mexico, and Daniel Lopez-Guerra, 24, of Mexico, each to a term of 27 months in prison.
All three previously pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Transport and Harbor Illegal Aliens for Profit.
In April 2021, special agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – Nogales began surveilling vehicles identified as being used for human smuggling and subsequently identified a stash house. On May 14, 2021, a search warrant was executed at the residence where agents found 54 undocumented noncitizens inside. Agents also found notebooks containing written entries indicating hundreds of undocumented noncitizens had been brought to the residence after illegally crossing into the United States.
Garcia-Mondragon and Lopez-Guerra were identified as individuals in charge of the stash house, while Villalobos-Lopez was identified as a leader and organizer of the operation.