PASSENGER SENTENCED TO 15 MONTHS FOR HIGH SPEED FLIGHT FROM IMMIGRATION CHECKPOINT

 TUCSON, Ariz. – On Jan. 31, 2012, Jessica Leann Johnson, 30, of Green Valley, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cindy K. Jorgenson to 15 months in federal prison. Johnson pleaded guilty on November 17, 2011, to Conspiracy to Commit High Speed Flight from Immigration Checkpoint.

On Aug. 4, 2011, Johnson was a passenger in a vehicle that stopped at the Interstate 19 Nogales Checkpoint.  The vehicle was referred for a secondary inspection.  Johnson refused to get out of the vehicle as instructed by Border Patrol agents.  An agent reached into the passenger side window and attempted to get Johnson to exit the car.  Johnson yelled to the driver to “Go, go, go!” The driver hit the accelerator and the vehicle moved forward with the agent’s arm still in the vehicle.  The agent was able to release her arm as the vehicle sped through the checkpoint nearly hitting another agent.  Johnson and the driver fled at a high speed on the freeway, eventually jumped out of the car, and fled on foot.  Both were apprehended a short time later. The driver, Lisa Marie Quihuis, 28, of Sahuarita, Ariz., pleaded guilty and was sentenced on January 12, 2012, to 16 months in federal prison.     

The investigation in this case was conducted by United States Border Patrol. The prosecution was handled by Ann DeMarais, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Tucson.

CASE NUMBER:           CR- 11-2941-TUC-CKJ 
RELEASE NUMBER:   2012-019(Johnson)

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/