Texas Man Pleads Guilty To Bringing Illegal Aliens To The United States

HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Arturo Luna, age 45, Laredo, Texas, pleaded guilty yesterday before United States District Court Chief Judge Christopher C. Conner in Harrisburg to offenses related to illegally bringing illegal aliens into the United States.

According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, Luna was a “coyote,” a person who illegally brought aliens from Mexico into the United States, including aliens who were brought to the Middle District of Pennsylvania between August and September 2013.

Co-defendants, Martha Ortiz was sentenced to 36 months imprisonment in January 2015 and Herberto Ortiz Gutierez was sentenced to 112 months imprisonment in December 2015.

The case was investigated by Drug Enforcement Administration, Customs & Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, and Pennsylvania State Police.  Prosecution of the case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Christy H. Fawcett.

A sentence following a finding of guilt or plea of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

The maximum penalty under federal law is 10 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.

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