A U.S. citizen has been offered a plea deal for his involvement in human smuggling activity which left a 13-year-old Mexican boy with a fractured skull and brain hemorrhage after the vehicle he was hiding in crashed as the driver fled from a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint last month.
Jesus Maria Valencia-Rodriguez was arrested near Sasabe the morning of Jan. 25 after driving away at high speed from the State Route 286 checkpoint. He is charged with engaging in the transportation of undocumented non-U.S. citizens (UNCs) for private financial gain while causing serious bodily injury to any person.
The federal criminal complaint notes Valencia-Rodriguez, age 30, initially consented to a search of his Chevrolet Malibu at the checkpoint located at milepost 26, but took off as agents prepared to look in the trunk. A short distance later, he drove the vehicle off the roadway and crashed into an embankment.
Two Mexican nationals were found stashed in the trunk, including the boy. USBP agents provided emergency medical care until local first responders arrived, and the boy was airlifted to Banner UMC in Tucson with severe injuries. The criminal complaint notes the boy was determined to be from a city in Sinaloa, Mexico, and was traveling without family.
The other person in the trunk, identified as Brayan Omar Moreno-Dominguez, was ground transported to Banner UMC for non-life threatening injuries. He is being detained as a material witness, and is scheduled to give a video deposition later this month for use at Valencia-Rodriguez’s trial.
Valencia-Rodriguez, who fled on foot from the crash site into the desert, was apprehended in the area. He suffered bruising and lacerations to his face, according to the criminal complaint signed by a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
In a post-Miranda interview, Valencia-Rodriguez said he drove into the U.S. at the Sasabe Port of Entry, then picked up the two Mexicans about three or four miles north of the border. He placed the two in the trunk of his car, and admitted believing they were illegal aliens, the complaint states.
“Valencia initially denied transporting the aliens for profit, but eventually admitted that he was to be paid $4,000 USD per smuggled alien that he was transporting to Tucson, Arizona on behalf of a human smuggling coordinator / associate in Sasabe, Sonora, Mexico,” the complaint states.
Valencia-Rodriguez is out of custody pending trial. He is prohibited from traveling outside Arizona without court approval and was ordered to surrender any travel documents. A status conference has been set for Feb. 23 at which time a federal magistrate, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Valencia-Rodriguez, and his federal public defender will discuss a plea offer.
A HSI spokesperson declined to comment on the boy’s medical condition.
