Texas Man Pleads Guilty After 5 Migrants Die in Human Smuggling Police Chase

A Texas man from Eagle Pass pleaded guilty in federal court to a human smuggling attempt that led to the deaths of five migrants in June 2018. The smugglers packed 13 migrants into a Chevrolet Suburban and then fled from police. The pursuit ended in a fiery rollover crash as the pursuit entered the town of Big Wells.

Jorge Luis Monsivais, Jr., 23 of Eagle Pass, pleaded guilty on Monday while appearing before U.S. District Judge Alia Moses in Del Rio, Texas, on Monday for his role in the deaths of five migrants. The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas reported Monsivais pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death; one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in serious bodily injury; one count of conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens; one count of illegal alien transportation resulting in death; and one count of illegal alien transportation resulting in serious bodily injury.

The charges arose from a human smuggling incident on June 17, 2018, where Monsivais packed 13 migrants, including a juvenile migrant, into a 2007 Chevrolet Suburban and then fled from Border Patrol agents and police, Breitbart Texas reported. As the high-speed pursuit entered the town of Big Wells, Mondivais lost control and rolled the Suburban multiple times. The Suburban burst into flames.

Four people are reported to have died at the scene after being ejected from the Suburban when it rolled numerous times. Emergency medical teams transported nine people to hospitals for treatment of injuries they sustained in the crash. One of those people reportedly died on the way to the hospital, the DOJ stated.

The DOJ filed charges against Monsivais and four others in a few days later. The co-conspirators included:

• The driver of the 2013 Tahoe, the second vehicle involved in the smuggling incident, 55-year-old Mexican citizen Marcial Gomez Santana;
• 45-year-old Mexican citizen Mariela Reyna;
• Marcial’s son, 21-year-old Rudy Gomez of Hockley, Texas; and
• Marcial’s daughter, 19-year-old Johana Gomez of Houston, Texas.

All four of the co-defendants pleaded guilty in federal court in 2019, the DOJ stated.

On July 29, 2019, 58-year-old Mexican citizen Marcial Gomez Santana pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death; conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in serious bodily injury; conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens; and harboring illegal aliens for private financial gain.  On August 20, 2019, Marcial’s son and daughter, 24-year-old Rudy Gomez of Hockley and 22-year-old Johana Gomez of Houston, along with 48-year-old Mexican citizen Mariela Reyna all pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens.

These defendants will face sentencing in September 2021, officials stated. Gomez faces up to life in prison while the others face up to ten years in federal prison.

Monsivais also faces a life prison sentence. The date for his sentencing has not yet been announced. He has been held in federal custody since his arrest in June 2017.