RGC man convicted of human smuggling
Comments 2
May 20, 2010 10:10 PM
Ana Ley

RIO GRANDE CITY — A Rio Grande City man was found guilty of smuggling people into the United States.

Michael Garza, 25, was convicted Wednesday by a federal jury in Laredo, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

U.S. Border Patrol agents found Garza driving north along the Rio Grande on Farm-to-Market Road 1017 on Feb. 18. The agents stopped the truck he was driving as well as a blue Ford Windstar minivan he was following down the brush-lined route.

Authorities detained Garza, three passengers riding in the truck, and nine immigrants hiding in the back of the minivan.

The driver and front-seat passenger of the van fled and were not arrested. The three truck passengers admitted they had sneaked across the Rio Grande before Garza picked them up at a stash house in Mission.

Garza could go to prison for up to 10 years and face a fine of up to $250,000 at his sentencing, which is scheduled for Aug. 25. He also faces a maximum of three years of supervised release after serving prison time. He remains in custody pending sentencing.


http://www.themonitor.com/articles/rio- ... gling.html