A Tucson woman has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for her role in smuggling undocumented noncitizens from Mexico.
On September 29, 2022, Dominique Trinidad Valdez-Velasquez, 30, was sentenced by United States District Judge Rosemary Márquez to 18 months in prison, followed by 36 months of supervised release.
Valdez-Velasquez previously pleaded guilty to Transporting Illegal Aliens, Placing in Jeopardy the Life of Any Person.
The incident occurred on December 29, 2021 during an immigration checkpoint traffic stop near Amado, Arizona. Customs and Border Protection’s U.S. Border Patrol conducted the investigation in this case.
According to court documents, after traveling for an hour, the noncitizens were left in the trunk, unable to move or leave, for more than four hours while Valdez-Velasquez slept in a hotel.
Valdez-Velasquez was arrested on December 29, 2021. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
The exact location of the crime was near Amado, Arizona. The case number is CR-22-0173-TUC-RM-LCK and the release number is 2022-173_Valdez-Velasquez.
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/ or follow them on Twitter at @USAO_AZ.
Related Federal Cases
- Juan Arrazolo, Transporting Illegal Aliens, Minnesota 2012 · Alabama
- Tyler Myers, Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens for Profit, Arizona 2023 · Texas
- Fernando Alvin Robles, Transportation of Illegal Aliens, Arizona 2025 · Texas
- Pedro Martinez-Ruiz, Transportation of Illegal Aliens for Profit, Arizona 2026 · Texas
- Sean Christopher Hale, Transportation of Illegal Aliens, Arizona 2021 · Arizona
Key Facts
- State: Arizona
- Category: Human Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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