GREAT FALLS, Mont. (NMB) – A Mexican citizen pleaded guilty on Wednesday to illegal re-entry after she was arrested in Glacier County in November during an investigation into possible alien smuggling from Canada.
Ma Mercedes Rivera-Gutierrez, 39, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Great Falls to illegal re-entry into the U.S. after being previously deported.
Rivera-Gutierrez faces a maximum two years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
U.S. District Judge Brian Morris presided and set sentencing for February 6th.
A press release says that on November 17th, 2019, a Border Patrol agent observed a black Chevrolet Suburban traveling south on Highway 213 at about 10:45 PM and, based on intelligence and surveillance, had reason to believe the vehicle was being used to traffic undocumented aliens. When the agent activated his emergency lights and performed a traffic stop on the Suburban, multiple occupants absconded on foot into an agricultural field. Agents searched the field and arrested multiple persons, including Rivera-Gutierrez.
The case was investigated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paulette Stewart.
