Three more defendants in a Lyon County human smuggling, identity theft, illegal dentistry and drug possession case have accepted plea agreements in their specific criminal cases.
On Friday, Martha Lopez-Alvarado pleaded no contest to misdemeanor possession of marijuana. She had been charged with identity theft, making false information and possessing both marijuana and paraphernalia as part of a larger case involving counts of human smuggling and illegal dentistry.
Lopez-Alvarado will be sentenced Nov. 21. She spent time as both a defendant and witness in this case.
On Wednesday, Francisco Pichardo-Machado both accepted a plea and was sentenced. Originally charged with making false information and possessing both marijuana and paraphernalia, Pichardo-Machado pleaded no contest to possessing marijuana and was promptly sentenced to time served.
Had Pichardo-Machado not accepted the plea, he was set for trial to begin as soon as Monday.
Lopez-Alvarado and Pichardo-Machado become the fifth defendants to accept pleas in the overall case. The lead defendant, Iris Sandoval-Flores, pleaded no contest to dealing in false identification documents and theft as part of two separate but connected cases against her. She will be sentenced Nov. 12. Sandoval-Flores was also facing counts of human smuggling, identity theft and unlawful dentistry, among others, before her plea.
Separately last month, Hugo Cardona-Argueta — initially charged with identity theft, making false information, interfering with law enforcement and possessing marijuana — pleaded no contest to the possession count. Like Pichardo-Machado this past Wednesday and Martin Pichardo-Machado, who pleaded no contest to marijuana possession in August, Cardona-Argueta was sentenced to time served.
Case resolutions are still pending against Rigoberto Sandoval-Sandoval, Ana Figueroa and Edwar Benavidez-Sanchez, listed on the Kansas District Court Public Access Portal as Jerlin Jeovanny Cerna-Arguello. None of the three appeared for hearings this past summer, and all three now have motion hearings either later this month or next month to return their respective cash bonds. Sandoval-Sandoval and Figueroa have been charged with unlawful dentistry and unlawful obtaining of prescription drugs, but the District Court Public Access Portal says their cases have been “disposed due to failure to appear.” Cerna-Arguello is facing counts of identity theft, identity fraud, making false information and dealing in false ID documents. There is no record of his case being disposed at this time.
The initial overall case has accused the defendants of producing, supplying and using false documents like drivers licenses and Social Security cards, as well as illegally harboring a person illegally possibly for exploitation purposes and having an unlicensed dental operation inside the Sandoval-Flores home between January 2024 and this past spring.
