The DOJ said Tyler Shane Wells, 33, of Morristown and Alexander Bonilla-Servin, 18, of Smyrna “conspired” to impede federal agents at the site.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A multi-count indictment was unsealed Friday, charging two Tennessee men with conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens for financial gain. One of those men is also charged with forcibly impeding ICE agents at a Hardin Valley construction site, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The DOJ said Tyler Shane Wells, 33, of Morristown and Alexander Bonilla-Servin, 18, of Smyrna “conspired” from Jan. 5 to Jan. 13 to conceal and harbor “illegal aliens for the purpose of commercial advantage and private financial gain.” The DOJ also said the two conspired to forcibly impede federal agents while engaged in the performance of official duties.
The DOJ claimed the two conspired to prevent, “by force, intimidation or threat,” ICE agents from discharging their official duties.
The case focuses on a construction site for The Residences at Hardin Valley on Sagittarius Lane off Hardin Valley Road. The government alleges that men who were in the country illegally worked there.
According to records, ICE was conducting “investigative operations” around the project site. That started the week of Jan. 5.
Bonilla-Servin is facing a separate charge of “forcibly impeding federal agents engaged in the performance of their official duties” by using a 2019 GMC Sierra truck to hit the vehicle occupied by federal agents, the DOJ said.
The department said that, according to court documents, the two men agreed that Bonilla-Servin would drive his truck to a nearby location to conduct “counter surveillance” against federal agents watching the construction site.
“After conducting this counter-surveillance, Bonilla-Servin drove his pickup truck back to the construction site’s entrance and positioned the truck in an offensive posture in order to maintain an active blockade and a display of physical aggression at the construction site’s entrance,” the DOJ said.
The department said the two men “agreed, anticipated and intended” that federal agents would be forcibly impeded by the truck.
According to the department, Wells appeared in court on Friday, pleading not guilty to the charges in the indictment. A detention hearing is set for Jan. 26.