Third man gets prison time for trying to smuggle people from Canada into North Dakota

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A New Jersey man has been sentenced to a year-and-a-half in federal prison for trying to smuggle people from Mexico across the U.S.-Canada border into North Dakota. Jose Gonzalez-Resendiz was sentenced Monday, becoming the third man sentenced in the scheme. All three men pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to transport people into the U.S. illegally. Prosecutors say the conspiracy involved smuggling a group of people from Mexico across the border from Canada into North Dakota in March with plans to eventually move them to other U.S. locations. In exchange, the smugglers would be paid thousands of dollars by each person. Authorities say the plan began to unravel when a pickup truck carrying the people got stuck in snow.