CRIMINAL HISTORY:
Details of trucker’s troubles emerge
SAN ANTONIO — The driver of a tractor-trailer in which several immigrants died in crushing heat has a criminal record that dates to 1997 and a life as mobile as his job.
James Matthew Bradley Jr., 60, said little when informed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Chestney that the human-trafficking charge he faces carries a maximum life sentence and the possibility of death.
His criminal history could come into play during a bail hearing set for Thursday, when prosecutors are expected to argue that he is a danger to the community
and a flight risk because he faces a possible stiff sentence, and has a record of not appearing at scheduled court hearings and not complying with the law.
Bradley’s criminal record includes arrests since 1997 in multiple states on charges including menacing others, assault, grand theft, escape and several traffic offenses, according to public records.
Most recently, he lived in Louisville, Ky., and worked for Pyle Transportation of Iowa, public records indi- cate.
Bradley’s fiancee, Darni- sha Rose, also of Louisville, told the Associated Press he had no idea how the immigrants got into his trailer.
“I just can’t believe it. I’m stunned, shocked. He is too good a person to do anything like this,” said Rose. “He helps people. He doesn’t hurt people.”
Neighbors said Bradley lives with a relative there but that they keep to themselves. For more than a month, a truck matching the description of the one located at the deadly scene in San Antonio had been parked outside the house.
Court records show Bradley was arrested in 1997 in Arapahoe County, Colo., on charges of felony menacing, menacing with a deadly weapon and thirddegree assault. He pleaded guilty in 1998 to the felony menacing charge and the others were dropped, records show. He was sentenced to 60 days in jail and two years of probation.
The probation was revoked in 2003 and he was arrested a year later in 2004 on a felony escape warrant while in Hillsborough County, Fla.. He was also charged in Florida with grand theft, but the charge was dropped after he spent more than a month in jail. He was then extradited to Colorado, where he received one year in prison on the escape charge.
His probation was revoked again in 2005 and he was again sent to prison in Colorado, court records show.
He has also been convicted of several driving offenses in various states, including speeding, misuse of equipment and driving without evidence of financial responsibility (insurance), according to court records.
Bradley has been married twice, according to public records.
Bradley has been a truck driver for several years, according to court records. When he was arrested in 2004 in Florida, he listed his employment as trucker for IBS Transportation. His Florida driver’s license information page also said he has endorsements to haul dual trailers.
According to federal records, he was one of 15 drivers for Pyle Transportation, which is authorized to haul general freight, fresh produce, meat, refrigerated foods and paper products.
Pyle Transportation confirmed that the trailer was being transported to Brownsville because it had been sold. However, the company said Bradley wasn’t authorized to be carrying any cargo and that it had no idea there was anyone inside.
“This is terrible,” Brian Pyle, the company’s owner, said Sunday.
The Iowa trucking company has a history of safety violations, records show.
Last month, Pyle Transportation, which has 18 trucks, was fined more than $50,000 for not keeping proper logs. In 2015, it faced a $90,000 penalty for a similar infraction, according to records from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Since 2015, the company received more than 150 violations, but only four resulted in fines. In 2014, it was fined another four times. The infractions included: five violations for improper log keeping; using a driver known to have used a controlled substance; operating a motor vehicle without proper financial responsibility coverage; and having an expired medical examination certificate.