Julia Resendez, Alien Smuggling, Texas 2015

McALLEN, Texas – A gruesome alien smuggling conspiracy has resulted in the conviction of four individuals, including Julia Resendez, 33, of Sullivan City, Texas.

Resendez pleaded guilty on March 11, 2015, while Juan Manuel Garcia, 18, Eloy Mendoza Jr., 26, and Jose Manuel Lovato-Balleza, 23, pleaded guilty on the same date. Garcia and Mendoza are residents of Sullivan City, while Lovato is a Mexican national.

Garcia was charged with conspiracy to transport aliens and to transporting aliens, resulting in death. Mendoza, Lovato, and Resendez were convicted of conspiracy to harbor aliens.

On October 2, 2014, U.S. Border Patrol (BP) agents observed a truck appear to be transporting illegal aliens near Sullivan City. Garcia was driving and attempted to evade agents. He soon lost control of the vehicle on a caliche road, hitting an embankment and ejecting the majority of his passengers. BP agents responded immediately and observed Garcia and 11 illegal aliens at the scene of the rollover, where one female Guatemalan national was found deceased. The majority of the other aliens had severe injuries and had to be hospitalized. Within a few days, a male Guatemalan national passed away as a result of his injuries sustained in the rollover.

Based on their investigation, law enforcement was able to determine that the aliens involved in the rollover had been harbored in two alien stash houses located in Sullivan City. Agents discovered 15 aliens at a house on Huisache St. and another 16 were being harbored at a house on Ebony St. Mendoza and Lovato were determined to be the caretakers of the aliens found in the Huisache house, while Resendez was the caretaker in the Ebony house. Two of the aliens that Resendez was harboring were visibly injured and admitted to being in the rollover and fleeing afterwards. Both of these aliens indicated that they had been harbored by Mendoza and Lovato at the Huisache residence prior to the rollover.

The defendants will remain in custody pending sentencing, which is set for May 26, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Randy Crane. At that time, Garcia faces up to life in federal prison, while Mendoza, Lovato, and Resendez face up to 10 years imprisonment. All also face a potential $250,000 maximum fine.

The charges are the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, BP, and the Texas Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Lindenmuth is prosecuting the case.

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