Two soldiers were sentenced to federal prison for their roles in transporting illegal immigrants across Texas, a charge to which they pleaded guilty late last year.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo sentenced Isaiah Gore to 30 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to recruiting other soldiers to smuggle illegal immigrants across Border Patrol checkpoints. His counterpart, Denerio Williams, received a 24-month sentence after pleading guilty to driving the transport vehicles to specific locations in Texas in exchange for money. The two soldiers must also serve three years of supervised release after the end of their sentences.
The judge said the sentences were harsher than usual because the active-duty soldiers are “not the average citizen” and used their Army status to evade detection.
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Authorities caught Emmanuel Oppongagyare and Ralph Gregory Saint-Joie, two other active-duty soldiers awaiting sentences in this case, at a Border Patrol checkpoint on June 13, 2021, smuggling illegal immigrants in the back of their car. The two were wearing their Army uniforms at the time of arrest, officials said.
The two were recruited by Gore to pick up the immigrants in McAllen, Texas, and transport them to San Antonio, Oppongagyare told officials. They both pleaded guilty in August 2021 and are waiting to receive their sentence.
Oppongagyare, Saint-Joie, Williams, and Ivory Palmer, another soldier who pleaded guilty, each acted as a driver as part of the scheme, a joint investigation found. Palmer continues to await sentencing.
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After receiving their sentences, Williams and Gore were permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrendered to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility, although an exact location has not been specified.
Gore has since been discharged from the Army.
