Daniel Mata, Alien Trafficking, Texas 2014

LAREDO, Texas - A repeat offender has been ordered to federal prison for transporting illegal aliens for profit, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson.

Daniel Mata, 28, of Rio Bravo, pleaded guilty on February 28, 2014, to transporting illegal aliens for profit. Today, U.S. Senior District Judge George Kazen ordered him to serve a total of 60 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.

The court noted Mata's previous convictions for similar conduct and admonished him, stating that 'you've packed a lot of crime into a short amount of time…you're not a career criminal, but a career and a half criminal!'

Mata apologized to BP agents and their families. He was the driver of a suspicious Grand Marquis vehicle that was followed by U.S. Border Patrol agents to a local convenience store in Rio Bravo.

Agents determined that the four passengers were Mexican nationals who were illegally within the United States and had paid $5,000 as a transfer fee to Mata. He engaged in a physical confrontation with law enforcement and fled the scene, prompting an exhaustive pursuit by BP agents on foot and through air surveillance by the National Guard Air Unit.

After an extensive pursuit, Mata was eventually apprehended. He will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The charges were the result of an investigation by U.S. Border Patrol, the National Guard Air Unit, Homeland Security Investigations, and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sanjeev Bhasker is prosecuting the case.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdtx/pr/repeat-alien-trafficker-sentenced-prison-after-failed-escape