Guatemalan driver caught on I-70 with 6 illegal immigrant workers — now he admits he’d done it 7 times before

A Guatemalan national has pleaded guilty to a federal immigration offense after authorities said he transported six people who were unlawfully present in the United States. Juan Carlos Paxtor-Chay, 42, entered the plea before U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough in the Western District of Missouri. The case began with a Jan. 9, 2026, traffic stop on Interstate 70 near Boonville, Missouri, where a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper stopped the vehicle Paxtor-Chay was driving.

Six passengers were inside the vehicle during the stop. Federal authorities later determined that all seven occupants, including Paxtor-Chay, were unlawfully present in the United States. Paxtor-Chay admitted that he was transporting the six passengers from Los Angeles, California, to Canton, Ohio, where they were expected to work. He also acknowledged that he expected to receive payment after reaching the destination.

During the federal case, Paxtor-Chay admitted this was not the first time he had transported people under similar arrangements. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri, he acknowledged making approximately seven previous trips transporting individuals unlawfully present in the country. Homeland Security Investigations, part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, investigated in cooperation with the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Paxtor-Chay faces a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole. That maximum does not determine the sentence he will ultimately receive; the court will decide it after considering federal sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 11, 2027. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rudolph R. Rhodes IV is prosecuting the case.

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