A jury took just one hour to deliberate following a two-day trial to convict a 27-year-old Mexican citizen for conspiracy to harbor and transport people in the country illegally, according to a news release.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas issued the release Tuesday afternoon, announcing the guilty verdict for Silverio Moreno-Calderon.
Federal prosecutors alleged he illegally lived in a Mission stash house and that on Feb. 2, authorities watched him exit the residence and meet with a driver in a black sport utility vehicle.
“At that time, Moreno-Calderon prepared the vehicle for transportation of the undocumented individuals by rearranging the vehicle’s contents and viewing it from all angles with the doors both open and closed,” the release stated.
During the short trial, jurors heard how Moreno-Calderon directed three people into the vehicle and concealed them with blankets, boxes and various items.
A criminal complaint said Border Patrol agents had been conducting surveillance and when the vehicle left the residence, the agents requested that the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office conduct a traffic stop, which revealed two women and a man hiding in the vehicle.
Authorities then searched the residence and found an additional 24 people who were in the country illegally, according to the release.
Two of those people testified at the trial, telling jurors that Moreno-Calderon took their cellphones, enforced rules and determined when they could contact their families.
“One of the individuals testified how Moreno-Calderon punched him in the face for attempting to use his cellphone without permission,” the release states.
Robert Jason Cielake, who has pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme, took the stand and testified that he had driven from Houston on Feb. 1 and planned to transport four people in the country illegally to Harris County, according to court records and the news release.
“However, he and Moreno-Calderon were only able to fit three people in the vehicle due to their size,” the release stated. “He also told the jury how he followed Moreno-Calderon’s advice as it seemed like he had done this many times. He testified how Moreno-Calderon told him that he was planning on walking a group north following the driver’s departure.”
Cielake admitted after his arrest that he had smuggled people on four prior occasions, according to the complaint.
The news release said defense attorneys claimed Moreno-Calderon was being smuggled and that he was not a smuggler.
U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez, who presided over the trial, scheduled sentencing for Nov. 3, when Moreno-Calderon faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
Another man named Luis Ernesto Ramirez-Mejia has also pleaded guilty for his role in the scheme.
Cielake and Ramirez plead guilty in April and have not yet been sentenced.
He remains in custody.
