Arizona Woman Sentenced to 27 Months in Prison for Second Alien Smuggling Conviction Publisher: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona Byline: Zach J. Stoebe Dateline: Tucson, Arizona Date: 31 January 2024 Subjects: American Government , Crime

Tucson, Ariz. – Nicole Shermaine Martinez, 40, of Sells, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge Cindy K. Jorgenson to 27 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. A jury found Martinez guilty of Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens and Transportation of Illegal Aliens on November 8, 2023. Martinez also was sentenced to six months in prison for violating conditions of her federal probation from a prior alien smuggling conviction.

On January 18, 2023, Martinez picked up two undocumented non-citizens, including a 17-year-old unaccompanied minor, near the village of Menagers Dam on the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation. She was apprehended by United States Border Patrol agents as she was driving the individuals further into the United States. Martinez had previously been convicted of alien smuggling after she transported four undocumented non-citizens, including two in the trunk of her car, also through the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation. Martinez was placed on five years of probation but violated her conditions of probation by committing the new offense five months after she was sentenced.  

Customs and Border Protection’s United States Border Patrol conducted the investigation in this case. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR-21-01459-TUC-CKJ-MAA
                                      CR-23-00081-TUC-CKJ-MAA

RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-011_Martinez

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Public Affairs
Zach J. Stoebe
Telephone: (602) 514-7413
zachry.stoebe@usdoj.gov

Updated February 23, 2024

Press Release Number: 2024-011_Martinez