ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CASES

Manuel Bastidas-Sanchez &
Raul Garcia-Gonzalez

Description: Manuel Bastidas-Sanchez and Raul Garcia-Gonzalez were each sentenced to 12 years in prison for their role in operating a drop house and holding victims hostage on February 1st.

On October 5th, 2007 Badstidas- Sanchez pled guilty to:

• Kidnapping/ a class two dangerous felony and dangerous crime against children
• Kidnapping/ a class two dangerous felony
• Theft by Extortion/ a class two dangerous felony

On September 14th, 2007 Garica - Gonzalez pled guilty to:

• Kidnapping/ a class two dangerous felony and dangerous crime against children
• Kidnapping/ a class two dangerous felony
• Theft by Extortion/ a class two dangerous felony

The judge heard testimony from two victims who outlined their ordeal in a cramped drop house during which they were threatened with violence and death.

On April 5th, 2007, Phoenix Police found two drop houses after getting reports of shots fired at one of the homes. Some of the victims were jumping through windows to escape the violence. One of the victims was a 12 year old girl.

Bastidas-Sanchez, an illegal immigrant, was originally granted bond by court commissioner. The County Attorney's office fought that decision as part of its efforts to uphold Proposition 100 which denies bail to illegal immigrants accused of serious felonies.

Description: On February 20th 2008, Carlos Felix-Aguilar, Marialuisa Pacheco-Fraile, Arnoldo Luna & Jorge Montalvo-Toledo were sentenced to 7 year prison terms for their involvement in a case involving the human smuggling of illegal immigrants.

On July 26, 2007, the Phoenix Police investigated a drop house for human smuggling in which the four defendants were holding 16 illegal immigrants captive against their will and threatened to do them physical harm if an increased smuggling fee was not paid. The victims indicated that they had been smuggled from Mexico and Nicaragua, and had been held captive at the residence from between 2 to 6 days. While at the residence, the victims stated that they had been guarded, threatened and extorted by the various armed defendants.

The defendants pled guilty to Kidnapping, a class two felony, on January 11, 2008, before Commissioner Pamela D. Svoboda.

Arturo Nevarez-Ugarte

Arturo Nevarez-Ugarte, 34, was sentenced to 31 years in prison on April 11, 2008 for his participation in a violent drop house. Nevarez-Ugarte was found guilty by a jury on March 12, 2008 of the following charges:

• Two counts of Armed Robbery, a class two dangerous felony
• Two counts of Theft by Extortion, a class two dangerous felony
• Two counts of Kidnapping, a class two dangerous felony

According to the Phoenix Police Department probable cause statement, on September 21, 2007, the defendant, along with several other coyotes, participated in the kidnapping, extortion and armed robbery of approximately 17 victims in a drop house located at 1720 N. 94th Drive in Phoenix. After several hours, the victims managed to fight their way out of the house and took to the surrounding neighborhood looking for help. The defendant was arrested late the same day after being identified by the victims.

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