Migrants sentenced in drowning deaths

Two undocumented immigrants died after boat capsized

Por: Leonel Sánchez 25 Febrero 2011 @ 3:31 pm
Tamaño: Aumentar Tamaño de Letra Disminuir Tamaño de Letra
Compartir

Two Mexican men were sentenced Friday each to five years in a U.S. prison for their roles in a boat-smuggling attempt near Torrey Pines State Beach last year that resulted in the deaths of two undocumented immigrants.

The two victims, Marbilia Mejia, 18, of Guatemala, and José Ortiz, 34, of Mexico, were among 20 immigrants who were aboard a 26-foot fishing vessel that capsized as it was approaching the beach in stormy weather.

Ortiz drowned trying to save Mejia. Neither was wearing a floating jacket and both left two-year-old children .

The deaths were the first known maritime smuggling fatalities in San Diego County and highlighted the increased frequency of this type of smuggling near the California coast.

The two men sentenced, Fernando Figueroa RodrÃ*guez, 51, and Javier Jiménez Yucupicio, 46,

were involved in another failed boat-smuggling attempt just days before the Jan. 16, 2010 accident, Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Braverman said. The two men and their human cargo were found stranded on a boat in international waters, he said.

Braverman argued for longer sentences for each man, saying it would send a stronger message “to dissuade others from engaging in this type of behavior.â€