Two immigrants died in the trunk of a car at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in August 2014, and now, an accomplice has been held accountable.
Pedro Velasco-Manzano, a 44-year-old citizen of Mexico, was sentenced to 12 months in custody for his role in the deaths.
According to the investigation, Velasco-Manzano helped arrange the smuggling of two Mexican citizens, Tarcisio Casas-Blanco and Jose Aurelio Quiroz-Casas, into the United States for a fee of $11,500, with his take being $200. He delivered them to the smugglers, Nicholas George Zakov and Eduard Ervemac Saavedra, who enticed Zakov to smuggle the victims into the United States with the prospect of $3,500 cash.
On the morning of August 12, 2014, Saavedra arranged for the two victims to be hidden in the trunk of Zakov’s Dodge Challenger in Tijuana, Mexico, exposing them to rising temperatures and little ventilation. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers later discovered Casas-Blanco and Quiroz-Casas unresponsive inside the Challenger’s trunk.
Medical attention was immediately sought for the two, but they died a short while later of hyperthermia and mechanical asphyxiation. Zakov, a U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty in 2015 to alien smuggling charges for his role in the deaths of the victims and was sentenced to 84 months in prison. Saavedra, a Peruvian citizen, pleaded guilty in 2016 to alien smuggling charges for his role in the deaths of the victims and was sentenced to 63 months in prison.
The investigation and arrest of Velasco-Manzano were the result of the collaboration of Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, San Diego Police Department, and the Baja California State Preventive Police Department.
Pedro Velasco-Manzano, 44, of Oaxaca, Mexico, was sentenced to 12 months in custody for actions that ultimately resulted in the deaths of two unauthorized immigrants. He pleaded guilty to Counts 1 and 2: Encouraging and Inducing Illegal Aliens, Aiding and Abetting, 8 U.S.C. §1324(a)(1)(A)(iv), and (v)(II). He was sentenced on July 10, 2017 in federal court in San Diego, California.
The crimes occurred on August 12, 2014 at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. The defendants were involved in a human trafficking scheme that resulted in the deaths of two immigrants. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, San Diego Police Department, and the Baja California State Preventive Police Department were involved in the investigation.
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Human Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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