S.A. man gets 6 years for human smuggling

A San Antonio man has been sentenced in Del Rio to more than six years in federal prison for human smuggling.

Enrique Rodriguez, 21, who pleaded guilty in October 2020 to conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in serious bodily injury or placing lives in jeopardy, has been in federal custody since being arrested in May 2020.

On May 19 of that year, Rodriguez was driving a pickup and evading a Dimmit County sheriff’s deputy, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.

He was driving north on U.S. 83 at over 100 mph — narrowly avoiding multiple collisions with oncoming vehicles, including law enforcement — before crashing head-on into a guardrail.

The pickup’s passengers, including six undocumented immigrants riding in the bed of the truck, were ejected as it rolled over.

A deputy and U.S. Border Patrol agents said that everyone suffered serious injuries, including likely head trauma, broken legs, severe neck injuries, loss of upward mobility and loss of consciousness. Four of the six immigrants needed emergency room treatment.

Rodriguez was arrested at the scene.

In addition to his sentence, Rodriguez was ordered to pay $205,827.97 in restitution.

“This defendant failed to yield for a traffic stop, and his numerous reckless decisions that followed resulted in a violent crash,” U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas said in a statement. “His smuggling victims are very fortunate they survived. These smuggling attempts pose a very serious threat, not only to those directly involved, but to innocent civilians and our partners as well.”

Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Border Patrol, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Dimmit County Sheriff ’s Office investigated the case.