Two Mexican men and a U.S. citizen have admitted to their roles in a deadly immigrant smuggling conspiracy, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas said in a news release Friday.
Francisco Javier Quintanilla-Alcocer, a 38-year old Mexican citizen, pleaded guilty Friday. Brandon Cibriano-Gonzalez, a 21-year-old Mexican citizen, and Orlando Andres Garcia, 23, Mission, had previously entered guilty pleas, the news release said.
According to the news release, on Oct. 22, 2021, Cibriano-Gonzalez acted as a brush guide to smuggle a group of 10 people from Mexico into the United States. He guided them to a pick-up location in Palmview. There, Quintanilla-Alcocer and Garcia arrived and were driving a Chevrolet Impala and Chevrolet Malibu, respectively.
The group and Cibriano-Gonzalez were loaded into the vehicles and left the scene. Shortly thereafter, law enforcement attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but both vehicles failed to yield, and a high-speed chase ensued, the news release said.
Garcia turned his vehicle to divert law enforcement, while Quintanilla-Alcocer continued to accelerate. Quintanilla-Alcocer turned onto a dirt road in Mission where the Chevrolet Impala rolled and crashed into a homeowner’s fence.
Authorities located a total of seven individuals on scene. Three had been ejected, two of whom died at the scene. They were all illegally present in the country.
Quintanilla-Alcocer was not located at that time. However, evidence in the vehicle led law enforcement to him.
“Phone records also indicated that Quintanilla-Alcocer and Garcia had been consistently communicating throughout the high-speed pursuit. During these conversations, Garcia instructed Quintanilla to go faster,” the news release said.
Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane accepted the pleas and set Quintanilla-Alcocer’s sentencing for May 25, while Cibriano-Gonzalez and Garcia are set for April 18. At those times, all three men face up to life in federal prison.
The men will remain in federal custody pending their hearings.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with assistance from the Palmview Police Department and Texas Department of Public Safety.
