Attorneys representing the owners of Abby’s Bakery in Los Fresnos filed a motion for acquittal nearly two weeks after their clients were found guilty on all charges for harboring people in the country illegally.
Sergio Villarreal and Cesar de Leon, who represent Leonardo Baez and Nora Alicia Avila-Guel respectively, filed the motions on Aug. 26. Both attorneys are arguing that the U.S. government failed to provide evidence that the defendants willfully engaged in an agreement to harbor individuals who were not authorized to be in the country.
They also claim that the government failed to prove that Baez and Avila-Guel attempted to conceal those individuals.
“The evidence adduced at trial in this case was woefully insufficient on the key elements of the Defendants’ intent to willfully join in the conspiracy alleged in the indictment and to harbor, as charged in Counts II and III of the Indictment, in order to prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.,” the motion reads.
The attorneys cited the deposition of two material witnesses, identified as Gerardo Emmanuel Sanchez-Martinez and Roberto Ibarra-Otero, who each denied entering into any agreement with the bakery owners, nor were they instructed to avoid immigration officials while living in Suite No. 5, which is located on the same property as the bakery at 417 W. Ocean Blvd. Unit 2 in Los Fresnos.
Sanchez-Martinez and Ibarra-Otero were two of the eight individuals employed by Abby’s Bakery who were arrested by HSI special agents on Feb. 12. The six other individuals held temporary visas. However, those visas did not permit them to work in the United States. Sanchez-Martinez and Ibarra-Otero were undocumented.
Baez and Avila-Guel were arrested on Feb. 19. They were each charged with one count of conspiracy to harbor people in the country illegally, and two counts of harboring or attempting to harbor them.
With the guilty verdicts, both owners — who are legal permanent residents — could face more trouble as their status in the U.S. is potentially at stake.
“The record shows no agreement, no knowledge or intent, and no concealment or substantial facilitation, as both material witnesses expressly denied that (Baez and Avila-Guel) engaged in or furthered any unlawful conduct,” the motion reads.
“Their testimony establishes open and public living conditions inconsistent with ‘harboring,’ and the Fifth Circuit has made clear that mere shelter does not satisfy the statute,” the motion continued. “With no evidence of an agreement, no evidence of willful participation, and no evidence of concealment, the government’s case rests on speculation, which cannot constitutionally sustain a conviction. Counts 2 and 3, as well as the derivative conspiracy in Count 1, are therefore legally insufficient, and judgment of acquittal must be entered.”
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 18 as both defendants will remain on bond.