Mexican Citizen Found Guilty in Jury Trial, Faces Over 100 Years in Prison

PHOENIX Carlos Alvarez-Espinoza, 22, a citizen of Mexico, was found guilty of Conspiracy to Take Hostages, five counts of Hostage Taking, Conspiracy to Harbor Illegal Aliens, Harboring Illegal Aliens, and five counts of Brandishing a Firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, by a federal jury in Phoenix. The case was tried before United States District Court Judge David G. Campbell from June 15 to June 19, 2009. The defendant will remain in custody pending sentencing. Sentencing is set before Judge Campbell on October 19, 2009. Five defendants were charged in the Superseding Indictment. Two defendants previously pled guilty to gun counts, one is set for trial in September 2009, and the remaining defendant is currently awaiting trial in Maricopa County Superior Court and his case in federal court will go forward after the state matter is resolved. The evidence at trial showed that Alvarez-Espinoza along with at least four others were part of a violent group of alien smugglers. In May 2008, this group held at least 23 illegal aliens hostage at a house in Phoenix. While held hostage at gunpoint, one victim was beaten with fists while others were pistol whipped, and all were threatened with death. At least two people escaped by jumping out a second story window after which Alvarez-Espinoza and a co-defendant told the aliens that they were going to look for one of the escapees and make him pay by taking him out to the desert and killing him. Soon thereafter, Alvarez-Espinoza drove away from the house with a co-defendant and two undocumented aliens. At the direction of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Phoenix Police Department performed a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by the defendant. A loaded firearm, possessed by Alvarez-Espinoza, was found in his car. A federal search warrant was then executed at the alien stash house where two additional co-defendants were located along with 21 hostages. The evidence demonstrated that the defendant lived at the stash house and brandished a firearm during the hostage taking at all five victims who testified at trial. A conviction for Hostage Taking and Firearm charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison years, a $ 250,000 fine or both. These penalties must be served consecutively. Since Alvarez-Espinoza was convicted of five gun counts, he faces a mandatory minimum of 107 years for those counts alone. The investigation leading to the guilty verdict was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Phoenix Police Department and the El Dorado County Sheriffs Office in California.