GREAT FALLS — Two people accused of harboring and re-entry appeared in federal court in Great Falls for arraignment, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said in a news release on Friday, April 11, 2025.
Kristin Louise Mitchell (aka Kristin Louise Short) of Shelby, 41 years old, pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging her with attempted harboring of illegal aliens. If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, Mitchell faces five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.
Carlos Alexis Ponce-Lopez of Honduras, 33, pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging him with re-entry of removed alien. If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, Ponce-Lopez faces two years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.
Count 1 of the indictment alleges that on March 4, 2025, near Shelby, Mitchell attempted to conceal, harbor, and shield from detection three illegal aliens and took a substantial step toward the commission of that offense.
Ponce-Lopez is charged in count 2 of the indictment with illegal reentry of a removed alien near Billings on February 21, 2025. The indictment alleges Ponce-Lopez is a citizen of Honduras, was removed from the United States in August 2014, and reentered the country without the permission of the Attorney General or the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
U.S. Magistrate Judge John Johnston presided. Mitchell was released on conditions, and Ponce-Lopez was detained pending further proceedings.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. The U.S. Border Patrol, Montana Highway Patrol, and Toole County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.
The news release notes that the charging documents are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
(MARCH 24, 2025) The US Border Patrol-Havre Sector announced recently that agents apprehended a person involved in the smuggling of what it called "three illegal aliens." The arrest happened on March 4, 2025.
The agency said the three illegal aliens have been identified as Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang members.
The US Department of the Treasury said several months ago of TdA:
From its origins as a prison gang in Aragua, Venezuela, Tren de Aragua has quickly expanded throughout the Western Hemisphere in recent years. With a particular focus on human smuggling and other illicit acts that target desperate migrants, the organization has developed additional revenue sources through a range of criminal activities, such as illegal mining, kidnapping, human trafficking, extortion, and the trafficking of illicit drugs such as cocaine and MDMA.
The alleged smuggler, a US citizen, will be prosecuted for "bringing in and harboring illegal aliens," per 8 USC 1324.
The illegal aliens will be charged with "improper entry by alien" and "re-entry of removed aliens," per 8 USC 1324 and 8 USC 1326.
The agency did not release the names of any of the people involved.
(FEBRUARY 14, 2025) For most people, when you think of Bozeman, you think of snowy little ski town. You don’t typically think of crime and gangs. But on Wednesday, ICE agents reportedly arrested six alleged members of Tren De Aragua (TdA)—a Venezuelan criminal organization right here in Gallatin County.
Watch:
“Our drug task force people work close with our federal partners. And for months they’ve been working with them, gathering intel and recognizing who’s who,” Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer tells me.
I met with Sheriff Springer on Friday afternoon. He told me Wednesday’s bust was made possible by the Missouri River Drug Task Force’s efforts to inform ICE.
“They were able to identify a number of gang members that were living up here in the area. At this time, ICE decided to come down and do an operation where they did administrative warrants and took them on deportation processes,” the sheriff tells me.
The suspects who were arrested are reportedly members of TdA—but how did our local drug task force figure out the who, what, when, and where?
“They have their ear to the ground all the time. They hear things, they see things,” Springer explains. “Gang members are notorious for bragging about what they are, who they are, and where they’ve been. The drug task force informants hear it and share that information."
Collecting intel over time. But just how long has the drug task force been aware of gangs such as TdA in Gallatin County?
“I would even go further than to say months. It’s for years. I mean, it is kind of the job of the drug task force,” Springer tells me.
So why haven't these arrests been made in the past?
“ICE has been more responsive lately. Certainly, in the last month. I want to be very clear though: this is not a political issue. This is a public safety issue,” Sheriff Springer tells me.
Springer says ICE being more active has been helpful in cracking down on some of these gang members.
“It’s just been really nice recently. Knowing now that maybe we don’t have a local crime that we’re able to charge them with. But ICE was willing and able to come up here and deport them," Springer says.
The US Department of the Treasury said several months ago of TdA:
From its origins as a prison gang in Aragua, Venezuela, Tren de Aragua has quickly expanded throughout the Western Hemisphere in recent years. With a particular focus on human smuggling and other illicit acts that target desperate migrants, the organization has developed additional revenue sources through a range of criminal activities, such as illegal mining, kidnapping, human trafficking, extortion, and the trafficking of illicit drugs such as cocaine and MDMA.
Although these six gang members are off the streets?
“We have identified gang members still. We have identified cartel members. We know who they are, we know oftentimes where they live,” the sheriff says.
Sheriff Springer tells me the drug task force monitors gang activity, trying to ensure they never get a foothold here in Gallatin County, thereby preventing gang violence. But if you’re still concerned with gang members in our community?
“It is a public safety concern that those people are here. We recognize that. We are out there fighting them every single day to make sure you can stay safe. The fact of the matter is it’s our job to stand between those people and you,” Sheriff Springer says.
