A Mississippi man has pleaded guilty to transporting illegal immigrants from Texas to northern New York, where he was arrested after mistakenly trying to enter Canada.
The Watertown Daily Times reported that 34-year-old Jason Lindsey of Biloxi pleaded guilty last Friday in federal court in Syracuse.
According to federal prosecutors, Lindsey was working for a carpet business in Gulfport, Miss., last October when he drove to Houston to pick up three illegal immigrants from Mexico. Authorities say his boss told him to deliver the men to Fort Covington, on the Canadian border in Franklin County.
Officials said Lindsey's global positioning system -- or GPS -- took him to the Canadian border at Alexandria Bay in Jefferson County, 85 miles west of Fort Covington. The complaint states that "Lindsey did not intend to go to Canada, but the GPS led them there," according to the newspaper.
After being refused entry to Canada, he was returned to U.S. Customs officials.
Lindsey reportedly admitted in court Friday that he was paid to transport the illegal immigrants. He said he knew the men were in the country illegally.
The newspaper reports that Lindsey faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine at his Aug. 1 sentencing.
Click for more on this story from the Watertown Daily Times
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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