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L.A. men found guilty of moving illegal aliens
March 22, 2006

By Danielle Braff / Post-Tribune staff writer

Two men who were found guilty Monday of carting illegal aliens across the country, highlighting the business and profits behind immigrant transportation during their 10-month court proceedings in Hammond’s U.S. District Court.

Octavio Leon-Llerna and Juan Hernandez-Rivas, both of Los Angeles, were arrested while traveling eastbound in Porter County in May, when an Indiana State Police officer questioned why there were so many Hispanic men packed into a van. Leon-Llerna and Hernandez-Rivas were paid $1,000 to carry 10 illegal men and women and one legal immigrant from Los Angeles to New Jersey on a 6-day trip ending their travel from countries as far away as Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico, according to the criminal affidavit.

Interviews with the passengers revealed that each paid a smuggling fee ranging from $350 to $2,100. The van was provided by Abraham Amador Archundia, who supplied all the vans and cars to illegal immigrants interested in moving through the United States to look for work. He allegedly operated through the Greyhound station in Los Angeles. He charged the group in question a $3,500 rental fee for the van, which was to be collected once they arrived in New Jersey, Hernandez-Rivas told investigators.

Archundia allegedly had a network of employees who lived and worked along the routes in all major cities from California to New Jersey, and those employees monitored the van travel via cell phone. They were also responsible for any assistance if the vans had vehicle problems along the way, according to court documents.

“The United States government panned them as part of a big United States conspiracy,” said Jerry Peteet, attorney for Hernandez-Rivas. Peteet described the defendants as pawns in a bigger immigration situation, who were unfairly targeted because of racial stereotypes.

“He stopped the van solely because he saw it occupied with Hispanic people. The case should have failed for that reason alone,” Peteet said. “This was the first time he drove.”

Peteet said he probably won’t appeal the conviction because Hernandez-Rivas has already been incarcerated for a year, and the appeal process will take longer than the 2-3 years he expects the sentencing will be. The sentencing is scheduled for June 20.

Contact Danielle Braff at 648-3079 or dbraff@post-trib.com.