A Tucson mam, Michael Lopez-Loreto, was sentenced to 30 months in prison after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens for Profit Placing in Jeopardy the Life of Any Person.
Lopez-Loreto’s prison sentence is to be followed by three years of supervised release.
According to the Department of Justice, on January 17, 2023, Lopez-Loreto was encountered by United States Border Patrol agents after a property owner reported a vehicle on their property. Agents subsequently observed individuals run from the desert and enter that vehicle that was being driven by Lopez-Loreto. Lopez-Loreto then drove toward an area where the roadway was blocked by agents. Lopez-Loreto was forced to slow to a near stop due to the obstruction. At that time, an agent activated his emergency equipment; however, Lopez-Loreto sped up and maneuvered around agents and their patrol vehicles to evade apprehension. As he sped away, Lopez-Loreto narrowly missed striking agents who were standing outside their vehicles. Agents pursued Lopez-Loreto and deployed spike strips to stop his vehicle. Lopez-Loreto swerved around one set of spike strips, attempted to avoid a second set by driving into an oncoming lane, and then crashed into water barriers, rolling the vehicle.
The two passengers in Lopez-Loreto’s vehicle suffered injuries in the crash and were transported to the hospital for treatment. Both were determined to be undocumented non-citizens who Lopez-Loreto was smuggling further into the country at the time of this incident.