A Phoenix man, Andres Urias-Soto, was sentenced last week to 96 months in prison after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens for Profit Resulting in Death and violating a condition of supervised release.
Urias-Soto’s prison sentence is to be followed by five years of supervised release for the violation of supervised release.
According to the Department of Justice, on June 17, 2021, Urias-Soto agreed to drive to Lukeville, Arizona, to pick up undocumented non-citizens who were present illegally in the United States. Urias-Soto was to be paid to transport them to another location within the United States. On that same date, United States Border Patrol agents observed Urias-Soto pick up two suspected undocumented non-citizens from a gas station and drive northbound on State Route 85 towards Interstate 8. When Border Patrol agents activated their lights and sirens to conduct a traffic stop, Urias-Soto sped up, failed to yield to the agents, and eventually reached speeds up to 110 miles per hour. Shortly thereafter, Urias-Soto lost control of the vehicle and crashed in the desert.
One of the passengers succumbed to his injuries. The surviving passenger also sustained injuries.