A Phoenix man, John Edward Crenshaw, has been sentenced to 40 months in prison, after
pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens for Profit and Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person.
Crenshaw’s sentence is to be followed by three years of supervised release.
According to the Department of Justice, on March 3, 2022, Crenshaw was encountered at a United States Border Patrol checkpoint, which he approached while erratically driving a Ford Fusion. After he stopped, Border Patrol agents discovered that he was transporting five passengers, who were determined to be undocumented noncitizens that Crenshaw was smuggling further into the country. Four of the passengers were in the rear of the vehicle, which did not have seats or seat belts. Crenshaw was in possession of a knife and a loaded .380-caliber pistol.
He was later determined to be a convicted felon who could not legally possess a firearm.