By Michael Donoghue
Vermont News First

An illegal immigrant from Venezuela, who federal officials claim led four other undocumented aliens over the international border into Vermont during Christmas week, will remain in custody while his federal criminal case is resolved in court in Burlington.

Joneyker Rafael Ramos Guillen, 20, is charged in a criminal complaint in U.S. District Court with unlawfully bringing the four aliens, including a 17-year-old from Brazil, into the country when they lacked official authorization to enter on Dec. 23, records show.

The U.S. Border Patrol said Ramos Guillen ran from federal agents three times and repeatedly lied when apprehended, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Golubock said in court papers.

“When confronted by a Border Patrol Agent, Ramos fled and evaded.  When a second Border Patrol Agent encountered him, he fled again, leading the agent on a 500-yard foot chase,” Golubock wrote.  Ramos Guillen was trying to re-cross the border into Canada, but was captured, he said.

“Defendant Ramos then lied about his purpose for crossing the border (claiming he was looking for his mother).  During a post-Miranda interview, defendant Ramos again lied about his reasoning for his crossing, claiming he was hunting birds.  Only after further questioning did defendant Ramos admit his role in human trafficking,” Golubock wrote in his detention motion.

Ramos Guillen admitted that he was getting paid to unlawfully lead illegal immigrants into the United States, records show.   

Ramos Guillen appeared for a detention hearing in federal court on Monday afternoon and Federal Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle agreed that Ramos Guillen needed to be detained as a risk to flee.

Doyle cited more than a half dozen reasons to jail Ramos Guillen, including a history of attempting to evade law enforcement, the weight of the evidence and the lengthy prison time he faces if convicted. 

The magistrate also noted Ramos Guillen has no family ties to the community, a lack of legal status in the U.S. and that he faces deportation.

Doyle said Ramos Guillen is entitled to a probable cause hearing on Jan. 12 unless a federal grand jury inducts him in the interim.

Canada Border Services Agency indicated the country would not accept Ramos Guillen back in Canada, the U.S. Border Patrol said in court papers.

 Ramos Guillen was the foot guide leading four immigrants from different countries into the United States near the Orleans County community of Troy, the Border Patrol said.

The people making the trip with Ramos Guillen were:  Byron Guillermo Gonzabay Giron, 47, of Ecuador, Lixia Nong, 23, of China, Zhongyue Xiang, 62, of Portugal, and the 17-year-old unaccompanied Brazilian man, the criminal complaint said.

Gonzabay Giron, Nong, and Xiang were all charged as adults by criminal complaint with illegal entry into the United States. There was no court paperwork for the unidentified minor from Brazil.

The Border Patrol said it detected an unlawful entry near the Monastery Trail in Troy about 7 a.m..  An alert agent was able to find footprints in the snow indicating that about five people were headed southbound through rugged tree-covered terrain, court papers noted.

The responding agent followed the trail south and it crossed Bear Mountain Road.  About 50 minutes into the search, the agent spotted some potential suspects just below a densely tree-covered ridge headed west toward North Troy Village, the Border Patrol said.

When the agent yelled to the group to stop and said he was with the Border Patrol, they fled, records show.  One suspect dropped a backpack, and the group crested the wooded ridge as the foot chase and tracking continued, the Border Patrol said.  A young woman, later identified as Nong, was apprehended hiding behind a blown-down tree.  Nong admitted she was from China and produced a Chinese  passport, the Border Patrol said.

Nong claimed she had crossed the border alone.  She was taken out to Bear Mountain Road to another federal agent to transport her to the Newport Border Patrol Station, before resuming the search.

The tracking agent soon found signs of three suspects heading southwest toward North Troy.  He tracked them along the east side of the North Troy Cemetery into the backyard at 115 Cemetery Road where he again identified himself as a Border Patrol Agent, but the suspects scattered and fled again, court records show.

Gonzabay and the juvenile from Brazil were soon apprehended.  The third suspect, who was without a backpack, sprinted east into another densely wooded area, ran up a steep slope and was lost from view for a short time, records show.  After handing off the two captured suspects, the agent resumed the search for the running suspect.

The agent saw signs that the suspect might be winding north back toward the border, records show.  The suspect was later spotted walking north and when ordered to stop by the Border Patrol, opted to ignore the command and continued to run north on Cross Road, court records show.  He eventually ran east through a densely wooded area and the agent lost sight of him, but other agents were in the area and Gonzabay was intercepted, the Border Patrol said.

The investigating agent eventually went back and retrieved the discard backpack and also headed with a second agent to the area where the illegal immigrants entered the country, records show.  They determined that one other person appears to have crossed the international boundary, the Border Patrol said.

The agents returned to Bear Mountain Road and the lead agent eventually found a woman walking alongside Bear Mountain Road carrying a backpack and had multiple layers of clothing, the Border Patrol said.  The 62-year-old woman, later identified as Xiang, provided a passport issued by Portugal.

One of the Border Patrol Agents from the Richford station joined the search and he eventually located Ramos Guillen walking in an open field.  As the agent closed in on the suspect, he began to run.  He gave up after a 500-yard run.  The clothing on Ramos Guillen matched a screen shot take from security video near Monastery Trail, the Border Patrol said.

He initially claimed he was not involved in smuggling the illegal immigrants over the international boundary, but when pressed, he said he had been bird hunting and got lost, the Border Patrol said.  They said Ramos Guillen eventually admitted his involvement and claimed he was getting paid $700 to lead them into the United States.   

Gonzabay-Giron said he had hired somebody to help him cross and agreed to pay $3,500, the Border Patrol said.  He later identified his foot guide as Ramos Guillen from a photo lineup, the Border Patrol said.

Three of the illegal immigrants pleaded guilty to illegal entry into the United States.  Nong and Xiang were sentenced by Doyle to time served, which equated to eight days by the time they had their hearing.  The time-served sentence for Gonzabay Giron, who appeared in court one day earlier, equated to seven days. 

The trio will remain in federal custody until they can be deported.