2 men operating Phoenix drop house sentenced
February 5th, 2009 @ 4:07pm
by Bob McClay/KTAR Newsroom

Two men who ran a drop house with more than 50 illegal immigrants inside have been sentenced to prison terms of 10 and 21 years.

Cresenciano Torres de la Rosa, 36, and Jorge Morales-Loza, 29, were arrested in October 2007 after deputies found the immigrants in west Phoenix.

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas said the case proves he's dedicated to protecting all crime victims, including illegal immigrants.

"Even though they are here illegally, they have a right not be abused, not to be the victim of violent crimes," he said.

The victims claim they were held for three weeks in abysmal living conditions, and that their captors possessed a gun.

The two men were each found guilty as charged, on four counts of kidnapping and one count of human smuggling, after a three-week trial.

De la Rosa will serve 21 years in prison, while Morales-Loza was sentenced to 10.5 years in prison.

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