A federal judge sentenced a Harlingen man to more than 14 years in prison for his role in fatal immigrant smuggling attempt where 19 people died in Victoria.
Abelardo Flores, Jr. was the last of 14 people to be sentenced in the fatal May 2003 human smuggling attempt where 19 immigrants died from dehydration and the heat in an 18-wheeler’s trailer.
Court records show that 40-year-old Flores pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to commit immigrant smuggling charge back in April 2004.
Flores testified in the trials of several people charged in the case, including truck driver Tyrone Williams who got 19 life in prison terms for his role in the case.
The Houston Chronicle reported that Flores testified he pressured an acquaintance to give him a job in a human smuggling ring in order to pay for his cocaine habit.
Flores testified that he made as much as $15,000 per load of immigrants.
The Houston Chronicle reported that Flores gave $7,500 dollars to dual 74 Mexican and Central American immigrants in the back of a refrigerator trailer.
Flores appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Vanessa Gilmore in Houston on Monday where he received 14 years and 7 months in federal prison for his role in the case.
Court records show that Flores is the last person to be sentenced in the Victoria immigrant smuggling case – the deadliest human smuggling attempted in United States history.
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