A Pharr man has been found guilty of illegally transporting an undocumented immigrant, U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani announced. 45-year-old Benjamin Ramirez faced trial, which lasted one day and resulted in the jury convicting him after a brief hour of deliberation, according to a press release.
During the trial, evidence showed that Ramirez, with a passenger present, was stopped at the Falfurrias Border Patrol checkpoint. Law enforcement there conducted a regular immigration check and discovered the passenger was in the U.S. illegally. The defense's argument, that Ramirez was unaware of the passenger's legal status and was simply traveling for mechanical work in San Antonio, did not hold sway with the jury.
As reported by the U.S. Department of Justice, Judge David S. Morales presided over the proceedings and has scheduled sentencing for December 4. Ramirez now faces up to five years in federal prison. Despite the conviction, Ramirez was allowed to remain on bond until the sentencing date. The investigation leading to Ramirez's arrest was conducted by Customs and Border Protection while Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Lamont and Liesel Roscher managed the prosecution.
