Peoria man sentenced after migrant dies during human smuggling run
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A Peoria man has been sentenced to more than four years in prison after he was found guilty of smuggling two illegal immigrants, one of whom died after jumping out of the car while it was moving.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Cesar Abraam Velasquez-Munoz was sentenced last week to 52 months in prison. Prosecutors said Velasquez-Munoz and his co-defendant, Steven Beltran-Lugo, picked up two migrants near the Mexican border to smuggle them into the U.S.
Shortly after, as Velasquez-Munoz drove the vehicle, he noticed Border Patrol agents following them and told the migrants to get out of the car. The first migrant jumped out of the moving car as it was traveling 45 mph. At that point, Velasquez-Munoz accelerated as the second migrant jumped out of the car, causing the migrant to suffer a brain hemorrhage and internal bleeding, dying two days later.
In March, Beltran-Lugo was sentenced to 38 months after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death.
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