Son of Mexican-American mariachi star Pepe Aguilar sentenced in smuggling case

The son of famous Mexican-American mariachi singer Pepe Aguilar, charged with trying to smuggle four Chinese immigrants in his trunk into San Diego, was sentenced to time served Tuesday.

Jose Emiliano Aguilar, 24, served 18 days in jail when arrested on March 14 following the discovery of the illicit load. He was then released on bond.

U.S. District Judge Anthony Battaglia sentenced Aguilar to three years probation, including the first six months under home detention in a sober-living facility.

Several friends and family attended the hearing to support Aguilar, including his father. The crowd gave a collective sigh of relief as the hearing ended.

Aguilar, a U.S. citizen, was living in Mexico when he was presented an opportunity to make money by smuggling the unauthorized immigrants in, said his defense lawyer, Jeremy Warren.

Aguilar and a female passenger drove up to the San Ysidro Port of Entry about 5:45 p.m., and an officer’s dog reacted to the trunk of the Chrysler 200, according to the complaint.

Four Chinese people were found inside. They admitted to paying between $3,000 and $60,000 to be smuggled, the complaint states. Two said they were headed to New York and two to Los Angeles.

Aguilar pleaded guilty to a count of bringing in an unauthorized immigrant.

Aguilar suffers from mental health issues and was using marijuana at the time to self-medicate, Warren said.

The lawyer said the sentence was appropriate.

“Judge Battaglia did what was right, he looked past him being the son of a famous musician and saw a troubled kid who has done everything in the last five months to fix his life,” Warren said.

Pepe Aguilar’s connection to the case drew a gaggle of Spanish-language media to the courthouse.

The singer, who lives in Los Angeles and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, has won four Grammy awards and four Latin Grammy awards.

kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @kristinadavis