Mailon Almendares-Martinez, Alien Smuggling, Texas 2023
A Houston federal jury has convicted a man involved in transporting aliens who were shot en route to Houston.
Mailon Almendares-Martinez, 38, was found guilty of alien smuggling after a two-week trial, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. The jury convicted Almendares-Martinez of transporting aliens who were shot by a rival alien smuggling organization on their way to Houston.
According to the indictment, Almendares-Martinez recruited conspirators who picked up the aliens near the border. On the way to Houston, individuals believed to be a part of a rival alien smuggling organization had shot at them, resulting in gunshot wounds to the arm and leg.
After the shooting, Almendares-Martinez told the co-conspirators to return to Houston and not seek medical attention for the two wounded aliens. He now faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Ganjei said, “This case demonstrates—like so many cases before it—that human smuggling is an inhumane, dangerous, and sometimes fatal business. Those that smuggle human beings for profit deserve prosecution, and those that would willingly place themselves in a situation to be smuggled need to think twice. Stay home, stay safe.”
Almendares-Martinez will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett on July 7, 2023.
Defendant: Mailon Almendares-Martinez
Criminal Charges: Alien Smuggling
City and State: Houston, Texas
Exact Date: April 25, 2023
Sentence or Outcome: Convicted
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Human Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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