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Cuban National Pleads Guilty To Immigrant Smuggling

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MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) - A man caught trying to smuggle immigrants into Miami is facing up to 30 years in prison when he's sentenced this summer.

On Monday, Carlos Garcia-Legon, 54, pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including 14 counts of encouraging and inducing an alien to come to the country illegally.

Court documents show a U.S. Customs and Border Protection aircraft spotted Garcia-Legon's 25-foot boat near Bimini, Bahamas, in February, and officers watched multiple passengers transfer from another vessel. CBP and U.S. Coast Guard vessels approached Garcia-Legon's boat off the coast of Miami. Following repeated orders to stop, CBP officers fired four shotgun rounds into his engines.

Authorities say Garcia-Legon, who is a Cuban national, was transporting 14 passengers from various countries, including China, Jamaica, Sri Lanka and Ecuador.

Sentencing for Garcia-Legon is scheduled for July 10th.

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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