San Diego
A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted five persons, including three San Diegans, on charges involving an alleged ring to smuggle illegal aliens that specialized in bringing Peruvians into this country.
Prosecutors charged that members of the ring, using tractor-trailers, carried hundreds of illegal aliens in recent months, usually hauling 50 to 90 aliens per load. Two tractor-trailers allegedly used to transport the aliens were seized by federal officials. Prosecutors allege that several homes in San Diego were used to house the aliens until the tractor-trailers took them elsewhere.
The defendants identified in the single-count indictment include San Diegans Joseph Jacoste, Rodolfo Ramirez and Clinton Bagley, as well as Arnulfo Serrano-Medina of Los Angeles and Maria Zavala of Tijuana. Each faces a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
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