U.S. DISTRICT COURT - Seven men from Guatemala and one from Ecuador have been indicted on immigration-related charges, Steven D. Weinhoeft, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today, Tuesday, March 19, 2019
The indictment stems from a traffic stop that occurred near New Baden, Illinois, on February 25, 2019. At that time, law enforcement officials discovered the eight men in a vehicle. Records checks revealed that seven of them previously had been deported from the United States to their home countries.
The seven vehicle passengers named in the indictment were all charged with illegal reentry after deportation, which is punishable by up to two years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and one year of supervised release. They are Segundo Porfirio Ordonez-Japon, 34, of Ecuador, and Alejandro Mejia-Hernandez, 24, Silvestre Bopp-Mendoza, 30, Miguel Raymundo Velasco, 19, Rigoberto Heredia-Lopez, 30, Fidencio Quizar-Sharshente, 32, and Diego Brito-Bernal, 24 – all of Guatemala.
The driver of the vehicle, Domingo Tomas-Zacarias, 20, also here illegally from Guatemala, was charged with seven counts of knowingly transporting illegal aliens for private financial gain. He faces a maximum possible punishment of 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release on each count.
All defendants appeared in federal district court on March 13 for initial appearances and arraignments following the filing of a criminal complaint against them. The federal indictment was returned earlier today. All eight are expected to be arraigned on the indictment tomorrow, at which time a trial date will be set.
The investigation of this case was conducted by the Department of Homeland Security