Three Smugglers Convicted in Bridge Death Case

McALLEN, Texas — Three smugglers have pleaded guilty in a deadly alien trafficking conspiracy that ended with a woman plunging to her death from a bridge near the Pharr port of entry. Antonio Arredondo Jr., 41, of Alamo; Carlos Valentin Avendano-Lucio, 35, of Mexico; and Nancy Yadira Moreno-Ruiz, 34, of Mexico, admitted their roles in a human smuggling ring that recklessly endangered lives in pursuit of profit.

The crime unfolded on August 4, 2014, when a group of undocumented aliens, guided on foot by Victor Moreno-Ruiz, 33, of Mexico, attempted to scale down a bridge into the U.S. The victim, a woman from Mexico, lost her footing during the descent and fell, suffering fatal injuries. The group abandoned her at the scene. The next day, authorities found her body on the levee near the same port of entry. She was later identified as the woman who had fallen.

Arredondo admitted in court that he coordinated smuggling arrangements for at least two undocumented aliens, including the deceased woman. Avendano-Lucio confessed to driving a van full of smuggled migrants from Reynosa, Mexico, into Pharr, Texas, as part of the operation. Nancy Yadira Moreno-Ruiz admitted to recruiting her husband — Avendano-Lucio — to execute the deadly cross-border run.

Victor Moreno-Ruiz, the foot guide who directed the group over the bridge, previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced on November 23, 2015, to 150 months in federal prison. His instructions directly preceded the woman’s fatal fall, placing him at the heart of the tragedy.

U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa accepted the guilty pleas of the three latest defendants and scheduled sentencing for February 23, 2017. Each faces up to life in prison and a possible $250,000 fine. Prosecutors are pushing for maximum penalties, citing the callous disregard for human life.

The investigation was led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, with support from Border Patrol, the Pharr Police Department, and the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Benavides is prosecuting the case, calling it a stark example of the lethal consequences of organized human smuggling.

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