Trial Is Set to Begin in Deadly Smuggling Case
The first trial stemming from the nation’s deadliest human-smuggling attempt was set to begin today in federal court, more than 1 1/2 years after 19 illegal immigrants died in a packed, sweltering trailer on a Texas highway.
Victor Jesus Rodriguez, Claudia Carrizales de Villa and Fredy Giovanni Garcia-Tobar each face 58 counts of harboring and transporting illegal immigrants. Each faces up to life in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors say the three were part of a smuggling ring that tried to transport more than 70 immigrants from South Texas to Houston in May 2003.
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