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A federal judge in Del Rio, Texas, has sentenced a 26-year-old Houston man to 35 years in prison for his role in a human smuggling operation tied to a crash that killed three people, Breitbart reported, citing the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.
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Shop NowU.S. District Chief Judge Alia Moses ordered the term to run consecutively to a 140-month drug trafficking sentence the defendant received in 2023, according to the Justice Department’s release, dated Sept. 28.
The release spells his name Roland Heith Martinez and says he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death.
Prosecutors described Martinez as an active member of a smuggling network linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, operating in Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama and Louisiana.
He coordinated drivers and handled payments through money transfers and Cash App, Breitbart reported. The Justice Department put the amount he sent at more than $54,000.
The case centered on an Aug. 7, 2022, single-vehicle crash in Kimble County.
The U.S. citizen driver and two migrants died. Breitbart reported the group was trying to avoid authorities.
“This 35-year sentence reflects the seriousness of these crimes,” HSI San Antonio’s John A. Pasciucco said in the release.
Click here to read the full story on Breitbart.
