3 from raided plant charged

Three former employees of a Utah County plant raided by immigration agents earlier this month have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of re-entering the U.S. after being deported.

A grand jury returned indictments Wednesday against Juan Carlos Ibanez-Tobar, Alejandro Sanchez-Manjarez and Gerardo Reyes Montelongo-Martinez. All three men, who are nationals from Mexico, face up to two years in federal prison before being deported again.

Meanwhile, attorneys for Universal Industrial Sales Inc. have entered pleas of not guilty to charges that the firm knowingly employed illegal immigrants.

Company officials did not show up for an initial appearance in U.S. District Court Tuesday morning but rather sent two attorneys.

In court, attorney James D. Gilson entered pleas of not guilty to 10 counts of harboring illegal aliens for commercial gain. Gilson also moved to have the appearance of company officials waived for the hearing.

The company faces a maximum penalty of $500,000 fines for each count, or twice the amount of any pecuniary gains, plus five years' probation. The company manufactures highway products, including guard rails, bridge rails and sign structures.

Agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided the plant, located in Lindon, taking some 57 employees into custody. In addition to charging Universal Industrial Sales, federal prosecutors also charged the company's human resources manager.

Alejandro Urritia-Garcia, 39, of Provo is charged with two counts of encouraging illegal immigrants to remain in the United States unlawfully. Prosecutors believe other company officials knew Urritia-Garcia had been hiring illegal immigrants.

Outside of court, Gilson said his company has not released any statement concerning the raid and subsequent charges and said the company does not plan to comment at this time.

Immigration agents detained and interviewed 57 employees and then released them. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Pead said the remaining employees have been referred to the Utah County Attorney's Office for possible state prosecution. According to that office, about 30 of those employees have been charged with identity theft and possession of forged documents.

U.S. District Magistrate Judge Paul Warner approved giving both the prosecution and defense more time to share a substantial amount of evidence in the case. A status conference has been scheduled for April 8.

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E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com

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