December 5, 2014
By MARGARET BAKER

GULFPORT -- A March 2 sentencing date has been set for a Texas man who has admitted to smuggling undocumented immigrants into the United States.

Roger Stokes, 32, pleaded guilty to a federal charge of bringing in and harboring undocumented immigrants. Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Louis Guirola Jr. was presiding. Stokes is facing a maximum prison term of up to 10 years and up to $250,000 in fines.

Stokes has remained jailed since his Aug. 12 arrest in a traffic stop on Interstate 10 in Jackson County.

He was driving a rented 2014 Ford Focus bearing a Louisiana license plate when a Jackson County sheriff's deputy stopped him near Moss Point for driving too close to a vehicle in front of him. He had three passengers in the car, none of whom spoke English, and told a U.S. Border Patrol agent that they were from Mexico and didn't have permission to be in the United States.

Stokes said he picked up the three men in Seguin, Texas, and received $1,000 when he left to drive the trio to Orlando. He said he was supposed to receive another $1,000 payoff once he arrived in Orlando.

At the time of his arrest, federal agents found three crystal meth pipes in the rental car.

Stokes has five previous felony convictions, along with an arrest for bond-jumping. In addition, he tested positive for amphetamine and marijuana at the time of his arrest.

http://www.sunherald.com/2014/12/05/...n-jackson.html