Honduran man sentenced to prison for role in holding illegal immigrants hostage in Phoenix

Honduran sentenced in Phoenix drop house case

PHOENIX — A Honduran man has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison for his role in holding two dozen illegal immigrants hostage in a Phoenix drop house.

Prosecutors say 28-year-old Marlon Rubio of Nacaome Valle, Honduras, was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court after earlier pleading guilty to brandishing a firearm during a violent crime.

Authorities say Rubio was one of three Hondurans who held 24 smuggled immigrants hostage in July 2008.

The immigrants later told investigators that Rubio was a guard at the Phoenix drop house and menaced them with a loaded pistol and repeatedly held the gun to the head of a female immigrant.