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Date: 02-29-2020
Case Style:
Case Number: 2:18-cr-02315-KG
Judge: Kenneth J. Gonzales
Court: United States District Court for the District of New Mexico (Dona Ana County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: Luis Martinez and Taylor Hartstein
Defendant's Attorney:
Description: Las Cruces, NM - The United States of America charged Francisco Armando Martinez with transporting illegal aliens.
A federal jury in Las Cruces, New Mexico returned a guilty verdict yesterday against Francisco Armando Martinez, 39, of Tucson, Arizona on one count of transporting illegal aliens.
The evidence at trial showed that a group of illegal aliens from Mexico paid smugglers to help them cross the border into the United States illegally. They gathered at a guest house in Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico. They paid for backpacks containing food and water for the trip and took a taxi to the border where a guide led them into the United States through the desert on foot. Martinez picked up the illegal aliens on the side of the road to transport them. He told them to wear their seat belts and be quiet. Martinez later drove to a gas station where border patrol agents questioned him about the people inside his vehicle and discovered Martinez was transporting illegal aliens.
The jury acquitted Martinez of a charge of conspiracy to transport aliens. He is currently out of custody awaiting sentencing. Martinez faces up to 5 years in prison.
U.S. Border Patrol investigated this case with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations.
Charge:
8:1324(a)(1)(A)(ii) and (a)(1)(B)(ii): TRANSPORTING AN ILLEGAL ALIEN; 8:1324(a)(1)(A)(v)(II): AIDING AND ABETTING
(2)
Outcome: 02/25/2020 110 Court's Jury Instructions by District Judge Kenneth J. Gonzales as to Francisco Armando Martinez (jjs) (Entered: 02/26/2020)
02/25/2020 112 Redacted Jury Notes as to Francisco Armando Martinez (jjs) (Entered: 02/26/2020)
02/25/2020 114 REDACTED JURY VERDICT as to Francisco Armando Martinez (1) Guilty on Count 2, Not Guilty on Count 1 (jjs) (Entered: 02/26/2020)
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: