Man Sentenced for Smuggling Immigrants

The driver who led an 80-mile chase that ended with two Riverside County sheriff’s deputies being videotaped clubbing a pair of Mexican nationals was sentenced Monday to 37 months in prison for smuggling illegal immigrants into the country.

Rigoberto Sosa-Padilla, a Mexican national, showed little emotion as the judge gave him the maximum possible sentence under federal guidelines for his role in the April 1, 1996, incident, which captured international attention with its televised images of alleged police brutality.

U.S. District Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer said she would have handed down a stiffer punishment if she had not been restrained by the sentencing guidelines.

“I’m very distressed with the results that come with the application of the guidelines,” declared Pfaelzer, who said federal mandated sentencing rules limited her discretion in the case.

Sosa-Padilla was convicted by a federal court jury after a two-day trial in January. According to prosecutors, he is a ruthless smuggler who showed little concern for the welfare of the undocumented immigrants he transported across the border for as much as $400 each.

Prosecutors said Sosa-Padilla jeopardized the lives of his passengers, other motorists and law enforcement officers during last year’s pursuit, in which he swerved in and out of freeway traffic at speeds up to 75 mph and sideswiped at least one vehicle. At the end of the chase, he pulled to the shoulder of the Pomona Freeway, jumped out of the truck and fled from authorities.

At least 19 illegal immigrants also tried to escape, bailing out of the rusted blue truck and hiding in a nearby plant nursery as Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputies Tracy Watson and Kurt Franklin arrived.

The deputies, both of whom were disciplined by their department and are under investigation in a civil rights probe, grabbed two immigrants--Alicia Sotero Vasquez and Enrique Funes Flores--and beat them with batons while yelling at them in English to get down on the ground. The deputies’ conduct was televised live by a helicopter news crew that had been following the pursuit.

Some community activists likened the incident to the infamous Rodney King beating, charging that the deputies used excessive force in apprehending the undocumented immigrants.

About a month after the chase, Sosa-Padilla was arrested for shuttling another load of undocumented immigrants across the border. He was charged in both cases and pleaded guilty to the May 3 smuggling incident. During his trial in the April smuggling case, Sosa-Padilla’s attorney contended that her client was not involved and that witnesses who testified otherwise were mistaken.

Pfaelzer on Monday also sentenced Sosa-Padilla to 37 months in prison for the May smuggling, but made the term concurrent with that for the April smuggling.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Michael Gennaco said he was pleased with the judge’s sentence even though he argued in court that she should depart from the guidelines and increase the punishment by about a year.

With the Sosa-Padilla matter concluded, he said he would turn his attention to a grand jury probe that is investigating possible civil rights violations against the two deputies. Some of the immigrants arrested in the April incident--who face eventual deportation--are cooperating with the probe, officials said.

Since convening in August, the grand jury has heard testimony from about 200 witnesses, Gennaco said.

Because of the incident, Watson was fired from the Sheriff’s Department and Franklin was reportedly suspended for a month. Both have appealed the disciplinary actions. Watson has sued the department, contending that his civil rights were violated when sheriff’s officers put him in a room and forced him to write a report immediately after the incident without his having first talked to an attorney.

The two illegal immigrants have also filed lawsuits claiming that deputies violated their civil rights.

And Sosa-Padilla’s legal troubles are not over. The Riverside County district attorney’s office has filed an assortment of felony charges in state court in connection with the chase, including reckless driving and evading arrest, his attorney said. Additionally, Sosa-Padilla--who according to court documents has three previous misdemeanor convictions related to smuggling--faces at least one felony charge in connection with a shooting in Stockton, attorneys said.

Attorney Irene Ayala, who represented Sosa-Padilla, said her client plans to appeal the federal court conviction and sentence.

“I think it’s a very sad case, a sad commentary on immigration . . . [and] the deputies’ reaction to immigration,” Ayala said.