Man re-sentenced to life in prison for 2006 smuggling case
March 16, 2011 10:49 AM
BY JAMES GILBERT - SUN STAFF WRITER

A federal judge has re-sentenced convicted illegal immigrant smuggler Adan Pineda-Doval to life in prison for his role in a 2006 rollover crash on Martinez Lake Road that took the lives of 10 illegal immigrants, including a pregnant woman.

Adan Pineda-Doval was found guilty by a federal jury on Oct. 25, 2007, of 10 counts of transportation of illegal aliens resulting in death, one count of transportation of illegal aliens placing lives in jeopardy and one count of re-entry after deportation.

In May 2008, U.S. District Judge Stephen M. McNamee imposed sentences of life imprisonment on each of the 10 counts of transportation of illegal aliens resulting in death. The terms were to be served concurrently with each other and with sentences of 25 years in prison for the charge of transportation of illegal aliens placing lives in jeopardy and two years in prison for the charge of re-entry after deportation.

If Pineda-Doval ever is released from the Bureau of Prisons, he will commence a term of supervised release of five years.

However, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled in August 2010 that the U.S. District Court in Arizona didn't find that Pineda-Doval planned the deaths or act with malice, and it didn't provide the correct standard of proof at his sentencing. As a result, the court overturned the life sentences and sent the case back to the U.S. District in Arizona for re-sentencing.

U.S. District Judge Stephen M. McNamee pronounced his findings on Feb. 28, 2011, and repeated them at the re-sentencing hearing on Monday.

On Aug. 7, 2006, Pineda-Doval was transporting 20 illegal aliens, including two pregnant women, to Los Angeles in a Chevrolet Suburban. The seats in the Chevrolet Suburban he was driving had been removed and folded down in the rear of the vehicle. None of the passengers was wearing a seat belt.

After being confronted by a Border Patrol agent who was patrolling a dirt road used to bypass the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on U.S. Highway 95, Pineda-Doval refused to stop the vehicle, despite the pleas of his passengers.

When another agent tried to stop the vehicle using a controlled tire deflation device, Pineda-Doval abruptly swerved the vehicle, traveled off the roadway and swerved again in the opposite direction, causing the vehicle to roll and eject multiple occupants.

Ten of the passengers died, including one of the pregnant women, Laura Torres-Rodriguez. Ms. Torres-Rodriguez' unborn child also did not survive. Pineda-Doval was arrested after witnesses identified him as the driver. The jury deliberated approximately one hour to find him guilty of all charges during the October 2007 trial.

The investigation leading to the guilty verdict was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol (Yuma Sector) with assistance from the Yuma County Sheriff's Office and the FBI. The prosecution was handled by Joseph E. Koehler, Dominic Lanza and Raymond Woo, assistant U.S. attorneys, District of Arizona, Phoenix.

James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.

http://www.yumasun.com/news/doval-68455 ... legal.html