Federal authorities charged a man Tuesday with coordinating the effort to smuggle dozens of people into the US that ended in a California crash earlier this month that 살해 13 사람들 after an overloaded SUV collided with a semitruck near the US-Mexico border.
Jose Cruz Noguez, 47, a legal resident of the US who lived in Mexicali, 멕시코, was taken into custody Monday night as he attempted to cross the Calexico Port of Entry, 미국. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California said in a 보도 자료.
Cruz is accused of helping organize the smuggling effort in which 44 individuals were crammed into two vehicles, a Ford Expedition and a GMC Yukon, to illegally cross into the US, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday.
US Customs and Border Protection agents determined the vehicles crossed through a 10-foot breach in the border fence on March 2 but the Expedition, 와 25 people on board, crashed into a semitruck soon afterward, 죽이는 13 사람들, 불만에 따르면.
Twelve individuals, including the suspected driver, died at the scene while one other passenger died while being transported to the hospital, the complaint said. Many of the passengers who survived had serious injuries, 그것은 말했다.
At Cruz’s first appearance in federal court Tuesday, he was charged with conspiracy to bring Mexican and Guatemalan nationals to the US outside of a port of entry, causing bodily injury or putting a life in jeopardy. He was also charged with bringing undocumented individuals into the country for financial gain.
“These smuggling networks seek maximum profit by moving as many people as possible across the border with zero regard for their safety and well-being,” said acting U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman in the press release. “Cramming dozens of people into eight-passenger vehicles and driving recklessly to avoid detection shows an utter disregard for human life.”
An inspection of the Ford Expedition after the crash found that all the seats but the driver and front passenger seats had been removed to fit more people, the criminal complaint said.
Cruz was identified by law enforcement officials after another suspected trafficker was arrested in a separate smuggling incident and alleged he had been working for Cruz, 불만에 따르면.
The associate told authorities Cruz recruited him to be the driver of one of the vehicles and offered him $ 1,000 per passenger, but he said he declined.
Cruz will be arraigned on April 27. If convicted, he could face up to 30 수감 년. According to the press release, the court appointed federal defenders as counsel for Cruz. CNN has reached out to them for comment, 그러나 회신하지 않았다.
