3 Get Prison for Fatal Migrant Smuggling

Three men were sentenced to prison Monday for smuggling dozens of undocumented immigrants through the mountains of eastern San Diego County on a trek that turned deadly during a spring snowstorm last year.

The men had pleaded guilty in January to immigrant smuggling that resulted in one death. Five people died and more than 50 were left stranded during the April 1999 storm.

As part of a plea bargain, the three defendants were charged with only the death of Sebastian Diaz Avila, 28, of Mexico, who died of hypothermia.

U.S. District Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz noted that the men acted intentionally or recklessly, which created a substantial risk of death or serious injury to the migrants in their care, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Jesus Rodriguez Cruz, 37, was sentenced to three years and one month; Luis Alberto Meza Rosario, 19, was sentenced to two years and three months; and Carlos Javier Gutierrez Sanchez, 20, was sentenced to two years.

They were among several paid guides who took groups of undocumented immigrants across the border, federal authorities said.

The men, all Mexican nationals, illegally entered the United States in the hills near Tecate. They took the migrants through the Cleveland National Forest, about 40 miles east of San Diego, and were surprised by an overnight snowstorm.

None of them were prepared for the chilly temperatures, wearing only light clothing and sneakers, and some of the victims testified that they had only a liter of water and a box of doughnuts for the three-day hike, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a news release.

As some immigrants fell behind, the smugglers left them and continued toward Interstate 8, where they were arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents. Rescue crews then searched the mountains for the others.