After three days of testimony, the federal judge overseeing the bench trial of a border-aid volunteer in Tucson gave a May 24 deadline for attorneys to file final arguments and briefs.
Scott Warren, 36, is the last of nine volunteers with Tucson-based No More Deaths who faced misdemeanor charges related to leaving humanitarian aid in 2017 on the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge west of Tucson.
Warren is accused of driving on unauthorized roads in the wildlife refuge in June 2017 and leaving water jugs and food for migrants. He faces misdemeanor charges of driving a vehicle in a wilderness area and abandoning property there.
On Monday, Warren testified he was exercising sincerely-held religious beliefs by providing aid to migrants while volunteering with No More Deaths, a ministry of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson.
Four volunteers were convicted in January and sentenced to 15 months probation, banned from the refuge and fined $150. Four others pleaded guilty to a civil infraction in February and fined $280.
Judge Raner C. Collins will issue a verdict after reviewing the final filings from prosecutors and defense lawyers.
