Arizona woman gets nearly 5 years in prison for smuggling drugs, undocumented noncitizens
Mar 22, 2022, 4:05 AM
PHOENIX — An Arizona woman was sentenced Friday to nearly five years behind bars for smuggling drugs and undocumented noncitizens, authorities said.
Yesenia Isabel Mendez, 40, of Tucson, was convicted of one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens for profit while placing in jeopardy the life of any person, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, said in a press release on Monday.
She was first arrested in August 2020 for hiding nearly half a pound of fentanyl on her body while riding in a commercial shuttle van from Mexico, authorities said.
After pleading guilty to the charge in October, she fled from her pretrial supervision in January 2021 before sentencing could take place.
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Three months later, authorities said Border Patrol pulled over Mendez and another person smuggling an undocumented noncitizen.
Mendez and the other person tried to flee and crashed into a concrete wash, authorities said, resulting in injuries for all three people in the car.
She plead guilty to the undocumented noncitizen smuggling charge in June.
Mendez’s sentence included a mandatory enhancement due to the previous offenses committed, authorities said.
She faces three years of supervised release after her prison term concludes.
