MCALLEN, TEXAS (AP) -- A man is in a South Texas federal court today to stand trial in an immigrant smuggling conspiracy that led to the drowning deaths of nine Central American immigrants.
The nine drowned in a South Texas canal in 2004. Jorge Hernandez Hernandez is charged for his alleged role in organizing the smuggling operation's human stash houses.
Testimony began Monday in a McAllen courtroom, and Hernandez listened to accounts from lower-level scouts and drivers.
Among them was a 17-year-old who took a wrong turn in the dark, plunging a carload of illegal immigrants into the canal.
Hernandez is charged with multiple counts of bringing in and harboring aliens.
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