Honduran National Charged with Transporting Illegal Aliens

TOLEDO  – A federal grand jury has returned a three-count indictment charging Nestor Alfredo Figueroa-Murillo, 29, of Honduras, with three counts of transporting illegal aliens unlawfully in the United States.

According to court documents, on Jan. 24, 2023, Border Patrol Agents performing patrol duties near a Service Plaza on the Ohio Turnpike in Sandusky County, Ohio, pulled over a vehicle driven by Figueroa-Murillo and discovered that he was transporting six other people inside the vehicle who were illegally inside the United States without authorization.  Court documents state that agents then began an investigation into the matter and determined that the six people found inside the vehicle had been illegally transported into the United States.

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.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal records, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation.  In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum; in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.

This investigation was conducted by the United States Border Patrol and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert N. Melching and Frank Spryszak.