Pedro Morales-Hidalgo, Failing to Heave to, Texas 2012

Defendant’s Daring Escape Ends in Conviction

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A Mexican national’s attempt to evade the U.S. Coast Guard has resulted in a guilty plea for failing to ‘heave to’ a Coast Guard vessel.

Pedro Morales-Hidalgo, 43, was the captain of a Mexican fishing vessel that was observed by a Coast Guard crew within U.S. territorial waters on Oct. 11, 2012. Morales-Hidalgo sped off towards the Mexican border as the Coast Guard approached, prompting a high-speed pursuit.

As the Coast Guard gave Morales-Hidalgo commands in English and Spanish to stop, he refused, making several ‘corkscrew’ maneuvers in an attempt to escape. Morales-Hidalgo also used his vessel to ram the Coast Guard in an attempt to disable its outboard engines.

U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service officials stated that Morales-Hidalgo’s actions put himself and nearby vessels at great risk, including innocent mariners and law enforcement officers.

Morales-Hidalgo admitted to hearing the directives to stop but failed to do so because he had been fishing illegally in the United States and knew that his boat and catch would be seized as a result.

U.S. District Judge Hilda G. Tagle accepted Morales-Hidalgo’s guilty plea, with sentencing set for March 27, 2013. Morales-Hidalgo faces a maximum prison term of five years and/or a fine of up to $250,000.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Israel Cano III.

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