ELEVEN Chinese nationals have pled guilty for attempting to enter Guam illegally by boat.
The federal court has sentenced one of the defendants while two chose to go on trial.
Each of the 14 defendants was charged with “engaging in a conspiracy [to transport, move, or attempt to transport or move] an alien within the United States, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that the alien came to, entered, and remained in the United States in violation of law.”
On Sept. 22, Xiangke Zhang, Lu Xu, Bin Weng, Yuxing Lin, and Xiping Gao appeared before Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI, and pled guilty to the charge.
On Sept. 25, before Magistrate Judge Heather Kennedy, Ziyou Xu, Qin Chen, and Huiping Shangguan pled guilty to the charge.
On Sept. 27, before Judge Kennedy, Fuquan Miao, Qingjun Chen, and Hongmei Ding pled guilty to the charge.
On Sept. 29, Rui Wang was sentenced by Judge Manglona to serve a term of nine days imprisonment. Wang will also be placed under two years supervised release and pay a $1,000 fine as well as a $100 assessment fee.
As for Donglin Xu and Qingjiang Li, their jury trial will start on Nov. 14 at 10 a.m.
All 14 defendants have been released under their own personal recognizance, and each was appointed an attorney to represent them, including an interpreter.
On Sept. 13, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations arrested the 14 Chinese nationals after they paid an undercover agent who was posing as a boat captain to transport them to Guam illegally.
According to special agent Meilani L. Quintanilla’s complaint and affidavit filed in federal court, 11 of the 14 entered the CNMI at various times and all have overstayed their legal status in the U.S.
