Mexican national indicted for illegally transporting seven undocumented people

A grand jury returned a two-count indictment charging a Mexican national with illegally transporting seven undocumented people, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

Enrique Luis Lopez-Rodriguez, 29, was found transporting six Mexican citizens and one Guatemalan citizen on March 17 in Richland County, according to the indictment.

He was charged with illegally reentering the country after officials had previously deported him from the United States.

If convicted, the sentence in this case will be determined by the court after consideration of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines which depend upon a number of factors unique to each case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the unique characteristics of the violation.  In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew J. Cronin.  The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations – Immigrations and Custom Enforcement and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.