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Press Release

Deming, N.M., Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Conspiring to Transport Illegal Aliens

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE – Steven Kasey Dupree, 30, of Deming, N.M., was sentenced this morning to 15 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction for conspiracy to transport illegal aliens. Dupree’s sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales and Chief Patrol Agent Scott A. Luck, El Paso Sector, U.S. Border Patrol.

Dupree and co-conspirator Cynthia M. Espinoza, also of Deming, N.M., were arrested in Feb. 2012, on a criminal complaint charging them with conspiracy to transport illegal aliens. According to the complaint, in Feb. 2012, Dupree and Espinoza conspired with others to transport seven illegal aliens from Mexico to the United States. On Feb. 7, 2012, Border Patrol Agents went to Dupree’s residence in response to a call notifying authorities that illegal aliens were on the premises. On arrival, the Border Patrol Agents found three illegal aliens in the residence, including two who each reported paying an $1800 fee to be smuggled across the United States/Mexican border and transported to Albuquerque. The Agents also learned that
Dupree had departed earlier that day to transport four illegal aliens from his residence to Phoenix, Ariz. Dupree and Espinoza were arrested later that day in Deming.

Dupree entered a guilty plea in May 2012, to a felony information charging him with conspiracy to transport illegal aliens. In his plea agreement, Dupree admitted conspiring with Espinoza and others to transport seven illegal aliens in Feb. 2012 for financial gain.

Dupree has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. Espinoza pled guilty in April 2012 to two counts of conspiring to transport illegal aliens and was sentenced to three years of probation in July 2012.

This case was investigated by the Counter Organized Alien Smuggling Task Force (COAST) of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Deming Border Patrol Station with assistance from the Luna County Sheriff’s Office, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Luis A. Martinez of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

Updated January 26, 2015