3 Admit Smuggling in Incident That Led to 8 Migrants’ Deaths

Three Mexican nationals pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in San Diego on Friday to immigrant-smuggling charges stemming from an incident last spring in which eight undocumented migrants traversing a rugged stretch of mountains in eastern San Diego County perished after being overtaken by an abrupt snowstorm.

The three men, who pleaded guilty to illegal immigrant smuggling resulting in a migrant’s death, face up to life sentences in federal prison when sentenced on April 10. Those pleading guilty were: Jesus Rodriguez Cruz, 37; Carlos Javier Gutierrez Sanchez, 19; and Luis Alberto Meza Rosario, 19.

A fourth man indicted on the same charges previously pleaded guilty to lesser smuggling charges.

The pleas stem from the hypothermia death of Sebastian Diaz Avila, a 28-year-old migrant who was among approximately 25 people being smuggled into the United States north of Tecate on April 1. Two groups joined in a chaotic scramble for safety in Nelson Canyon after getting caught in the sudden overnight snowstorm, said Assistant U.S. Atty. John Parmley.

“Stragglers started to slip behind and [the smugglers] started to leave them behind and just abandoned them there,” Parmley said.

Diaz, along with a nephew and friend, were among those left behind, Parmley said. After Diaz became incoherent, the nephew gave him his dry jacket and went on for aid. The nephew and friend were later rescued, Parmley said.

Parmley said he will seek a stiff sentence by trying to show that the three may have been responsible for smuggling at least one other migrant who died in the storm, which dropped up to a foot of snow and sent temperatures into the 20s.

The smugglers made their way to Interstate 8 about 40 miles east of San Diego. The U.S. Border Patrol and San Diego sheriff’s officials launched a massive daylong search throughout the mountainous region, locating eight dead in two canyons and shepherding dozens more to safety. Authorities arrested the defendants at the time, and believe other smugglers escaped back to Mexico.

Defense lawyer Knut Johnson, who represents Rodriguez, said he plans to argue at a Jan. 18 hearing that the three were merely helpers and could not have expected life-threatening weather.

“The real smugglers--the organizers making money on this--turned around and escaped into Mexico,” he said. He said Rodriguez was helping as a guide to cover his own fee for being smuggled to Orange County. He said the three men sought to help the immigrants by building a fire and sharing clothes.