Defendants Sentenced for Transporting Aliens

TYLER – Two Mexican nationals were sentenced to federal prison Wednesday for transporting illegal aliens. The sentences were handed down in Tyler federal court. German Gonzalez-Espinoza, 20, of Mexico City, Mexico, pleaded guilty on May 6, 2010, to conspiracy to transport illegal aliens in furtherance of the aliens’ unlawful presence in the United States and was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis. Sergio Hernandez-Cruz, 30, of Tejupilco, Mexico, pleaded guilty on Apr. 21, 2010, to the same charge and was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison Wednesday by Judge Davis. Upon completing their sentences, the two will be deported.

According to prosecutors, on Feb. 5, 2010, a van being driven by the two defendants from Dallas to Atlanta was stopped in Van Zandt County, Texas. State troopers notified immigration agents, and an investigation revealed that the occupants of the van were Mexican nationals who were illegally in the United States. Gonzalez-Espinoza and Hernandez-Cruz were indicted by a federal grand jury on Mar. 3, 2010, and charged with immigration violations.