Nine Texans and a resident of Ohio are looking at potential life sentences for their alleged involvement in a human smuggling operation that led to the deaths of eight people, according to a United States Department of Justice (DOJ) report from last week. The illicit activity also left several others in critical condition.
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) published a press release on November 9. It recounted an incident involving a DPS officer attempting to stop Sebastian Tovar of Toledo, Ohio, while driving a Dodge Ram in the Del Rio area back on March 15.
According to Hayden Sparks of The Texan, the chase concluded with Tovar crashing into oncoming traffic and killing eight people, and critically injuring another individual in his vehicle.
All the nine individuals riding with Tovar were allegedly unlawful migrants.
Two American citizens not inside Tovar’s truck also received injuries, according to a DOJ report.
“After the crash, U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) agents encountered a Ford F-150 stopped in traffic near the crash site. USBP agents directed the Ford to turn around, and subsequently, all occupants of the Ford fled the vehicle, absconding into nearby brush,” the press release detailed.
“USBP agents were able to locate 12 undocumented noncitizens who bolted from the Ford. After interviewing two of the undocumented noncitizens, USBP agents determined that the occupants of the Dodge and Ford were part of a human smuggling operation that was illegally transporting 20 undocumented noncitizens in the U.S.,” the DOJ press release continued.
Sparks highlighted the individuals who will be facing criminal charges of transporting unlawful migrants resulting in death:
“The government indicated that Tovar, 33-year-old Nicolas Mondragon-Gonzalez of Austin, 34-year-old Veronica Torres-Mendez of Austin, 40-year-old Jennifer Davis of San Antonio, 19-year-old Ruben Rodriguez-Jaimes of Bastrop, 32-year-old Lauren Malmquist of Round Rock, and 23-year-old Eduardo Benitez of Bastrop are charged with one count of transporting illegal aliens resulting in death.”
If these individuals are found guilty, they could be looking at potential life sentences in prison.
In addition, Tovar could be facing one count of transportation of unlawful migrants resulting in serious bodily injury on top of one charge of conspiracy. Tovar could be sentenced to 20 years for each violation.
29-year-old Marco Hernandez, a resident of Paige, and 21-year-old Jose Rodriguez, a resident of Austin, and the others who received charges, are also accused of multiple counts of transporting unlawful migrants.
They could be facing up to ten years of prison time for each of those counts.