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Benson stop prelude to human smuggling ring investigation
Six Sierra Vista men charged
Derek Jordan/Wick Communications
Sierra Vista Police Department on Friday announced the arrests of six men in connection with a local human smuggling ring.
Arrested over the course of the past week were Kelley T. Fort, 18; Joshua R. Kleese, 18; Raymon A. Lopez, 21; Jaquary T. Richard, 18; Francisco G. Ruiz, 19; and Dakota J. Sawvell, 19. Charges were human smuggling and criminal syndicate, with the most recent arrest occurring Friday.
Ruiz also was charged with using a minor in a criminal syndicate.
The men, all Sierra Vista residents, were involved with transporting illegal immigrants to Phoenix, said Tracy Grady, public information officer for the Sierra Vista Police Department.
The immigrants "were never held here," Grady said. "They were all going to Phoenix."
The arrests were the result of an ongoing investigation that began last month when, on July 20, a vehicle belonging to one of the suspects was stopped by U.S. Border Patrol agents while carrying up to five illegal immigrants, Grady said.
"The stop happened in Benson, and about six hours later, Lopez reported his car had been stolen," she said.
Online records show two of the suspects have been convicted of crimes in county courts in the past. According to Cochise County court records, Lopez was convicted of assault in April and false reporting to law enforcement earlier this month. Ruiz was convicted of money laundering in July.
It is not known how many people the suspects have smuggled or how long they have been doing it, Grady said. All six were booked into the Cochise County Jail on a bond of $40,000 each.
(Derek Jordan is a reporter at the Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review.)
Derek Jordan/Wick Communications
Sierra Vista Police Department on Friday announced the arrests of six men in connection with a local human smuggling ring.
Arrested over the course of the past week were Kelley T. Fort, 18; Joshua R. Kleese, 18; Raymon A. Lopez, 21; Jaquary T. Richard, 18; Francisco G. Ruiz, 19; and Dakota J. Sawvell, 19. Charges were human smuggling and criminal syndicate, with the most recent arrest occurring Friday.
Ruiz also was charged with using a minor in a criminal syndicate.
The men, all Sierra Vista residents, were involved with transporting illegal immigrants to Phoenix, said Tracy Grady, public information officer for the Sierra Vista Police Department.
The immigrants "were never held here," Grady said. "They were all going to Phoenix."
The arrests were the result of an ongoing investigation that began last month when, on July 20, a vehicle belonging to one of the suspects was stopped by U.S. Border Patrol agents while carrying up to five illegal immigrants, Grady said.
"The stop happened in Benson, and about six hours later, Lopez reported his car had been stolen," she said.
Online records show two of the suspects have been convicted of crimes in county courts in the past. According to Cochise County court records, Lopez was convicted of assault in April and false reporting to law enforcement earlier this month. Ruiz was convicted of money laundering in July.
It is not known how many people the suspects have smuggled or how long they have been doing it, Grady said. All six were booked into the Cochise County Jail on a bond of $40,000 each.
(Derek Jordan is a reporter at the Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review.)
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