Thread: AZ: Son of FLA. Congressman Pleads Guilty to Smuggling

http://www.willcoxrangenews.com/article ... news10.prt

BISBEE - The son of a Florida congressman was recently sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens for profit in federal court in Tucson.

John Finlayson Boyd, 30, the son of U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd, D-Fla., entered into a plea agreement in October in U.S. District Court.

Boyd was arrested at a Border Patrol checkpoint near Willcox in September.

He was originally supposed to be sentenced during a hearing scheduled for this Monday, but that date was changed to Feb. 18 at the request of his attorney, according to court records.

Judge John Roll sentenced him to 30 months in prison. Upon release, he will be placed on supervised release for 24 months. He also must pay a $100 special assessment. Roll waived a fine.

On Sept. 14, Boyd was driving a white Ford pickup truck and stopped at the primary inspection area of the checkpoint. A Border Patrol K-9 alerted to the possible presence of illegal immigrants in the bed, according to his plea agreement.

"A primary inspection agent approached the truck and saw an individual hiding under a piece of plywood in the bed of the truck. Inside the truck agents found an unaccompanied 6-year-old female juvenile in the passenger seat along with two other individuals laying on the floorboard behind the front seat," states the document.

"Agents also found two more individuals hiding under the piece of plywood in the bed of the truck. The four individuals all admitted that they were not citizens or nationals of the United States and that they did not have permission to be in the United States legally," it continues.

Material witnesses Francisco Vazquez-Santiago and Juan Carlos Vazquez-Santiago stated their group had illegally crossed into the United States and were later picked up by Boyd.

They said they were each going to pay $3,000 to be smuggled.

Officials determined the girl was a U.S. citizen, but was not related to Boyd. The investigation revealed her parents had passed through the checkpoint prior to Boyd's arrival. Officials contacted the parents by phone and they returned to the checkpoint to pick her up.

A search of the vehicle revealed a Beretta 22LR pistol with eight rounds of ammunition and a spare magazine with eight rounds of ammunition in a suitcase in the bed of the truck, according to the plea agreement.

Thank you.

This story didn't even make our local news. The original story did (briefly) but the followup didn't.