CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 45-year-old Hutchinson, Kansas, resident will serve federal prison time for his role in an alien smuggling conspiracy.
Jesse Antonio Villa pleaded guilty Aug. 20, 2025.
U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos ordered Villa to serve 65 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard additional testimony that Villa recruited at least 10 drivers from Hutchinson and supplied drivers who helped transport more than 100 illegal aliens. Villa sent the drivers to Houston, where Edgar Ruiz-Briones helped coordinate alien smuggling trips from the Rio Grande Valley through checkpoints into Houston. Between May 2023 and November 2024, Villa recruited drivers in Kansas to support an alien smuggling organization led by Ruiz-Briones. Villa sent the drivers to the Rio Grande Valley, where Ruiz-Briones coordinated transportation for illegal aliens crossing the southern border. The drivers communicated with both men to set up trips, report progress, and coordinate Houston drop-offs following successful smuggling operations. They picked up illegal aliens from various stash houses and transported them to Houston, where they met with Ruiz-Briones before the aliens were moved farther into the United States. Ruiz-Briones was previously sentenced to 120 months for his role in the conspiracy. Villa has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of Border Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Griffith prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigrants, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.