South Texas truck driver convicted of transporting illegal aliens

LAREDO, Texas — A 35-year-old man was convicted Tuesday of transporting illegal aliens, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas.

This investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Border Patrol.

Guadalupe Medellin Jr., from Laredo, was convicted Aug. 18 for his role in attempting to transport illegal aliens into the United States for profit.

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

CBP soon discovered four illegal aliens in the vehicle’s sleeper compartment.

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.

Sentencing has been set for Dec. 3. At that time, he could face up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 fine. Medellin will remain in custody pending that hearing.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jorge Vela and Christopher dos Santos, Southern District of Texas, are prosecuting this case.