A Tamaulipas man accused of acting as a brush guide during a fatal October smuggling event was indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday on three counts of bringing in and harboring people in the country illegally.
Brandon Osiel Cibriano-Gonzalez, who is being held without bond, has been in custody since Nov. 16 over allegations that he was involved in the smuggling attempt on Oct. 22 that resulted in the deaths of Brayan Treviño, of Mexico, who was later identified as one of the smugglers, and Cristian Arnulfo Jimenez-Castro, a citizen of Honduras.
Cibriano-Gonzalez wasn’t immediately taken into custody after the crash.
Instead, Border Patrol had deported him under Title 42 that day. However, the following day, people who were injured in the crash told investigators that he was the brush guide during the event.
Then, on Nov. 16, Border Patrol arrested Cibriano-Gonzalez with a group of people entering the country illegally and determined that he was acting as a brush guide.
After his arrest, Border Patrol agents noted he had glass embedded in his forehead, which he could not explain, according to the complaint. The investigators, however, had already known he was ejected through the windshield of the vehicle involved in the crash and that the people who were severely injured in the crash had identified him as the brush guide.
On Oct. 22, a Palmview police officer had spotted two vehicles, including a Chevrolet Impala, suspected of smuggling people. The officer followed the Impala and a chase ensued.
The officer, however, slowed down when the Impala turned onto a dirt road commonly used for bailouts, according to the criminal complaint.
When the officer found the Impala, it had extensive damage. The officer saw one man hanging out of the left rear window and three other men lying on the ground next to the vehicle, according to the complaint.
In all, the officer saw seven people at the scene, including the two people who died and five others who were “extremely injured,” according to the complaint.
The complaint does not identify the driver and his status is not immediately known.
Cibriano-Gonzalez is being held without bond pending the resolution of his case.
