A human smuggler from Peoria, Cesar Abraam Velasquez-Munoz, has been sentenced to 52 months in prison for his role in transporting two illegal aliens in March 2024, one of whom suffered fatal injuries after jumping out of the vehicle while it was moving.
The 20-year-old Velasquez-Munoz previously pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens for Profit Placing in Jeopardy the Life of Any Person and Resulting in Death.
On March 6, 2024, Velasquez-Munoz and his co-defendant, Steven Beltran-Lugo, picked up two illegal aliens near the Mexican border with the intent to smuggle them further into the United States. Velasquez-Munoz drove the vehicle while he and Beltran-Lugo communicated with a Phoenix-based smuggling coordinator.
At some point, Velasquez-Munoz noticed Border Patrol agents following their vehicle and told the aliens to get out of the car. The first illegal alien jumped out of the moving car while it was traveling approximately 45 miles per hour. Velasquez-Munoz then accelerated as the second illegal alien attempted to exit the vehicle, causing him to violently strike the pavement. As a result, he suffered a brain hemorrhage and internal bleeding, ultimately succumbing to these injuries two days later in the hospital.
Many years ago a mini-van passed me at the top of a hill going about 90 mph. A car was coming the other way but had not quite reached the top of the hill yet, the speeder barely happened to get back into the lane. Then he pulled over and people were pouring out into the desert.
Border Patrol was coming up fast and I pulled over for their lights.
Had the oncoming car been a few seconds later we’d all have been killed.
Kind of hard to blame him – despite his illegal activities – for someone electing to jump out of a moving vehicle doing 45mph or better. Now, if he’d have thrown the fellow out of a van or something, yeah, certainly, charge him for manslaughter.