Houston woman sentenced to 6 ½ years in prison for human smuggling resulting in death
CORPUS CHRISTI — A Houston woman was sentenced to 6 ½ years in federal prison Wednesday following her conviction for causing the death of an illegal alien while she was smuggling a group of nine into the United States.
This sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas.
This investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Border Patrol.
Karin Yamilec Aguilar-Melgor, 22, was sentenced Oct. 29 by U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales to 78 months in prison after accepting her guilty plea June 5. Aguilar-Melgor must also serve three years of supervised release.
“The tragic loss of life in this case shows the very real risks that people face when they put themselves in the hands of a smuggler,” said Brian M. Moskowitz, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Houston. “Those responsible for the illegal movement of people into and through our country place personal profit ahead of public safety and border protection with little regard for the health and well-being of their human cargo and that can be a deadly combination.”
According to court documents, on Feb. 25, at about 3:30 a.m., U.S. Border Patrol (BP) agents observed individuals getting into a red Ford pickup truck on a road near Falfurrias, Texas. Finding the activity suspicious, BP agents activated their emergency equipment and approached the vehicle, which immediately fled.
BP agents remained at the scene and apprehended one illegal alien. The pickup truck was located about five miles away, which had crashed into a tree on Farm to Market Road 2191 near Falfurrias. At the scene, eight more illegal aliens were discovered as well as Aguilar-Melgor, the driver.
One of the illegal aliens subsequently died due to injuries sustained in the car crash.
Aguilar-Melgor was arrested at the scene and has remained in custody since that time. She will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey S. Miller, Southern District of Texas, prosecuted this case.
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