Thread: MO: Mexican man charged with bringing 14 illegal aliens to U

http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 1/70216022

Published February 16, 2007

Mexican man charged with bringing 14 illegal aliens to U.S.

News-Leader

A Mexican national was charged today in federal court in Springfield with transporting illegal aliens, said Bradley J. Schlozman, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

Jose Tomas Cuautle-Robles, 37, a citizen of Mexico, was charged in a federal criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Springfield with transporting 14 illegal aliens across the United States.

According to an affidavit filed in support of today’s criminal complaint, a Missouri Highway Patrol trooper stopped a 1999 Plymouth Voyager van on Interstate 44 on Feb. 11, 2007. The driver of the van fled the vehicle and escaped on foot, leaving behind 16 passengers in the vehicle.

Cuautle-Robles was a passenger in the front seat of the vehicle. There were four seats in the vehicle with seat belts; the remaining 13 passengers were required to ride while sitting on the floor. According to the affidavit, all of the windows except the front driver/passenger window and the front windshield were completely covered with black spray paint. Officers also found a urine-filled bottle, food wrappers, trash and empty beverage containers.

Cuautle-Robles told officers that he crossed the border with 14 of the passengers in the vehicle. Several passengers told law enforcement officers that they had paid between $700 and $2,000 to be transported from Arizona to New York, St. Louis and Indianapolis.

WAY TO GO! Missouri Highway Patrol trooper WAY TO GO!

Mexican pleads guilty for aiding illegal immigrants
by KY3 News

SPRINGFIELD -- A Mexican citizen faces up to 75 years in prison after pleading guilty on Wednesday for transporting 15 illegal immigrants on Interstate 44. Jose Tomas Cuautle-Robles was a passenger in a van that was stopped by a state trooper last month.

Here are details from an edited news release from the U.S. attorney for Western Missouri:

A Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper stopped a 1999 Plymouth Voyager van on Interstate 44 on Sunday, Feb. 11. The driver of the van fled the vehicle and escaped on foot, leaving behind 16 passengers. Cuautle-Robles was a passenger in the front seat.

Four seats in the vehicle had seat belts; the remaining 13 passengers had to ride while sitting on the floor. All of the windows except the front driver/passenger window and the front windshield were covered with black spray paint. Officers also found a urine-filled bottle, food wrappers, trash and empty beverage containers.

Cuautle-Robles told officers that he crossed the border with 14 of the passengers in the vehicle. Several passengers told law enforcement officers that they paid between $700 and $2,000 to be driven from Arizona to New York City, St. Louis and Indianapolis.

Under federal statutes, Cuautle-Robles faces a sentence up to five years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000, for each of the illegal aliens being transported. Sentencing will be after a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.



Story Created: Mar 21, 2007 at 4:56 PM CST
Story Updated: Mar 21, 2007 at 4:56 PM CST

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