Source: United States Department of Justice News
DEL RIO, Texas – A San Antonio man was sentenced in a federal court in Del Rio today to 78 months in prison for conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in serious bodily injury or placing lives in jeopardy.
According to court documents, Enrique Rodriguez, 21, fled in a pickup truck during an attempted traffic stop by a Dimmit County Sheriff’s deputy. Driving north on U.S. Highway 83 at speeds over 100 mph, Rodriguez narrowly avoided multiple collisions, including with oncoming law enforcement vehicles, and drove head-on into a guardrail. The occupants of the vehicle, including six undocumented noncitizens riding in the bed of the truck, were ejected as the truck rolled over. The responding deputy and U.S. Border Patrol agents observed that the vehicle occupants suffered serious injuries, including likely head trauma, broken legs, severe neck injuries, loss of upward mobility and loss of consciousness. Four of the six undocumented individuals required emergency room treatment.
Rodriguez has remained in federal custody since his arrest on May 19, 2020. He pleaded guilty on Oct. 20, 2020. In addition to his prison sentence, Rodriguez was ordered to pay $205,827.97 in restitution.
“This defendant failed to yield for a traffic stop and his numerous reckless decisions that followed resulted in a violent crash,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas. “His smuggling victims are very fortunate they survived. These smuggling attempts pose a very serious threat, not only to those directly involved, but to innocent civilians and our partners as well.”
“Targeting smugglers who prey on human beings is a top priority for HSI,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Craig Larrabee of the Homeland Security Investigations San Antonio Division. “Human smugglers show a callous disregard for the value of life. Because of this, we will continue to aggressively pursue these human smugglers who put the lives of others in jeopardy for financial gain.”
HSI, USBP, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Dimmit County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Banister prosecuted the case.
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