San Diego

The ringleader of an alien-smuggling ring was sentenced Monday to five years in federal prison. Kenneth Turner, 31, of Escondido, who had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of harboring illegal aliens, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William Enright. Turner’s 29-year-old wife, Debra, was ordered to serve six months in prison and was placed on five years’ probation. She had pleaded guilty to one count of harboring undocumented aliens. The Turners and nine other people were indicted by a federal grand jury Oct. 10 after raids by the Border Patrol in September on three houses in Escondido. A total of 127 illegal aliens were also detained in the raid. The residences were considered “drop houses,” which were used to harbor the aliens until they could be taken to Los Angeles or elsewhere.