Jury Convicts Laredoan of Transporting Aliens

LAREDO, Texas – A 35-year-old Laredo man has been convicted of transportation of illegal aliens, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. The jury returned its verdicts against Guadalupe Medellin Jr. following a one-day-trial and approximately 25 minutes of deliberations.

At trial, the jury heard from a witness who had been detained in connection with the case. According to him, Medellin attempted to transport four undocumented aliens in a commercial tractor truck by driving them through the U.S. Border Patrol Checkpoint on Interstate 35 north of Laredo. Upon arrival at the checkpoint, a U.S. Border Patrol canine alerted to the presence of concealed persons within the vehicle, which was not pulling a trailer.

Border Patrol agents soon discovered four undocumented aliens in the sleeper compartment of the vehicle.

During trial, Medellin attempted to convince the jury he had no involvement in the crime. The jury was not convinced and found him guilty as charged.

U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo, who presided over the trial, has set sentencing for Dec. 3, 2015. At that time, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 fine. Medellin will remain in custody pending that hearing.

The charges are the result of an investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations with the assistance of the U.S. Border Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jorge Vela and Christopher dos Santos are prosecuting the case.