Trucker indicted in 10 aliens’ deaths

A federal grand jury in San Antonio has indicted a truck driver in the July deaths of 10 illegal aliens found in a truck trailer at a Wal-Mart parking lot, officials said.

James Matthew Bradley Jr., 60, was charged with five felony counts, including smuggling migrants for financial gain resulting in death — a charge that could result in the death penalty. The penalties for other charges range from 10-20 years in federal prison, the Justice Department said in a release Wednesday.

Seven Mexicans and one Guatemalan were found dead in the stiflingly hot trailer in San Antonio. They were among as many as 200 people packed in tightly and struggling to breathe through small holes. Two other people in the trailer later died in a hospital.

Currently, two people remain hospitalized, five were released to immigration authorities, and 22 are being held as material witnesses, according to the Justice Department.

Bradley initially told authorities that he was unaware of the trailer’s cargo and was surprised when he realized people had been trapped inside. He owned the truck found outside the Wal-Mart but not the trailer, according to public records. He told federal agents that the trailer’s refrigeration system did not work and that the vent holes were probably clogged, according to the criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

“The smugglers closed the doors and the interior of the trailer was pitch black and it was already hot inside,” James Lara, a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations wrote in the complaint after interviewing one of the illegal aliens.

“He stated they were not provided with any water or food. People inside were making noise to get someone’s attention but nobody ever came.”