One of the defendants accused of smuggling people in the country illegally with the use of a Starr County District Attorney vehicle entered into a plea agreement last Tuesday.
Mari Cruz Rosa was arrested in January along with three others, Magaly Rosa, Juan Antonio Charles and Bernice Bernadette Garza, who is the former crime victims coordinator for the Starr County District Attorney, following a traffic stop near Victoria in December.
Magaly Rosa and her husband, Charles, were driving a vehicle belonging to the Starr County District Attorney’s office near Victoria on Dec. 7, when a county deputy pulled them over and discovered they were driving with four people illegally present in the U.S., according to the criminal complaint.
During the investigation, Magaly Rosa implicated Garza.
Garza was then interviewed and admitted she was involved in the human smuggling conspiracy with Rosa and Charles, and “that they had made over forty (40) trips to transport undocumented aliens from the Rio Grande City, TX area to the Houston, TX area,” the complaint read.
Mari Cruz Rosa was later arrested and all four were named in a three-count indictment, although Mari Cruz Rosa is only facing the first count for the conspiracy to move people in the U.S. illegally between June 1, 2022 to Dec. 7 of that year.
A plea agreement was filed with the federal court last Tuesday on behalf of Mari Cruz Rosa, indicating she’s agreed to plead guilty to the conspiracy charge.
The agreement might benefit Mari Cruz Rosa, according to the document.
If Mari Cruz Rosa provides “substantial assistance,” the government may recommend a reduction in her sentence which could be considered by the district judge.
The sentencing is scheduled to happen in late May.
A trial for the other defendants is scheduled for April.
