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Mexican Citizens Admit to Transporting People into Montana

Alberto Guillen-Gordillo and Samuel Velasco-Tovar were arrested in November in Glacier County

By Beacon Staff

Two Mexican citizens arrested in Glacier County in November have admitted to illegally transportation people from Canada to the United States.

Alberto Guillen-Gordillo, 23, and Samuel Velasco-Tovar, 28, pleaded guilty to illegally transporting aliens in U.S. District Court in Great Falls on Feb. 4.

According to court documents, Border Patrol agents stopped two vehicles in Glacier County on Nov. 17. The agent found the driver and nine passengers in the first vehicle. All of the passengers admitted to being in the United States illegally. During the stop of the second vehicle all of the occupants ran into a nearby field. Agents found eight individuals within a few minutes. Those individuals also admitted to being in the country illegally.

In all, law enforcement transported 19 suspects to the Sweetgrass Border Patrol Station for processing. Four of the transported illegal aliens told agents they had paid from $4,000 to $4,750 to be smuggled into the United States and identified Velasco-Tovar as the foot guide who helped them cross into the United States.

Shortly after the arrests, a Border Patrol agent and Glacier County Sheriff’s deputy went to a Cut Bank hotel where the subjects had been staying to determine if any remaining occupant in one of the hotel rooms was in violation of trafficking laws. Guillen-Gordillo answered the door, identified himself and was taken into custody. Guillen-Gordillo admitted to being in the United States illegally.

A third co-defendant, Josue Bermudez-Lopez, of Mexico, pleaded guilty in December to illegally transporting aliens and is awaiting sentencing, while a fourth co-defendant has pleaded not guilty.