Two Fort Hood soldiers were convicted on March 25 of human smuggling in connection with an incident that took place last year where two Army soldiers were discovered moving illegal immigrants while in uniform.
Isaiah Gore, 21, received a federal prison sentence of two-and-a-half years, and 22-year-old Denerio Williams was given two years, NBC News reported. Gore recruited other soldiers to transport undocumented people, and Williams was present on at least one of the excursions.
Their roles came to light following an investigation after two uniformed individuals, who pleaded guilty last August, were caught with driving with two immigrants in their trunk last year, NBC News reported.
Gore said that he had been included in the operation by representatives of a human smuggling organization, NBC News reported.
None of the trips the soldiers took were found to have crossed the border, NBC News reported. Court documents reported that one pickup took place in McAllen, Texas, and another that originated in South Texas ended in San Antonio.
U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo said she handed down a harsher sentence to the soldiers because they were "not the average citizen," CNN reported. Marmolejo said Gore and Williams used their positions as soldiers to help them avoid getting caught.