McALLEN, Texas – The final man involved in a fatal smuggling conspiracy has been ordered to federal prison for two separate smuggling events that occurred just weeks apart, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Orlando Andres Garcia, 24, Mission, pleaded guilty to human smuggling resulting in death and conspiracy to harbor undocumented aliens within the United States Feb. 3, and Nov. 29, 2022, respectively.
U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez has now ordered Garcia to serve 120 months for the conspiracy to harbor in addition to 151 months for the smuggling event resulting in death. The sentences will be served in part consecutively for a total of 251 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.
At the hearing, the court heard how Garcia had been communicating with the other driver in the fatal smuggling event and encouraged him to reach dangerous speeds. Judge Alvarez also considered the life-altering and permanent injuries the survivors sustained in the accident and that Garcia was involved in stealing people and holding them for ransom a mere 18 days after the fatal accident.
In handing down the sentences, Judge Alvarez considered how the smugglers utilized multiple weapons, including firearms and a machete, further noting Garcia’s disregard for the well-being of the migrants and emphasizing the repetitiveness of his smuggling and the effects and harm his conduct has had on the victims and their families.
“Garcia trafficked in humans, not caring about the multiple lives he destroyed,” said Hamdani. “His actions led to the death of three migrants and to the kidnapping of nearly 50 at gunpoint. He saw migrants not as human beings but as property to buy and sell. Now, the only property he can buy or sell for years to come is what he can find in the prison’s commissary.”
“The fact that this unscrupulous smuggler put lives in danger to support his criminal activity is reprehensible. Today, justice was served,” said Special Agent in Charge Craig Larrabee for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Antonio. “These deaths could have been prevented were it not for this individual’s concern more for his own greed rather than the safety of others. HSI remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners and utilizing our unique investigative authorities to bring to justice those responsible for horrible tragedies like this.”
On Oct. 22, 2021, Brandon Cibriano-Gonzalez acted as a brush guide to smuggle a group of 10 non-U.S. citizens from Mexico into the United States. Francisco Javier Quintanilla-Alcocer and Garcia then picked them up and began to drive them in a Chevrolet Impala and Chevrolet Malibu, respectively. Law enforcement attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but both vehicles failed to yield and a high-speed chase ensued. Evidence showed that Garcia had been communicating with Quintanilla-Alcocer and telling him to go faster. They reached speeds of 130 miles per hour.
Quintanilla-Alcocer eventually turned onto a dirt road in Mission where the Impala rolled and crashed into a homeowner’s fence. Authorities located a total of seven individuals on scene. Three had been ejected, two of whom died at the scene. Three months following the crash, a third migrant succumbed to his injuries.
Just a couple weeks after this event, Garcia was involved in another smuggling scheme and holding people for ransom. On Nov. 9, 2021, several conspirators had arrived at a stash house, screamed “immigration” and directed 47 fleeing individuals to multiple vehicles staged outside the residence. They then transported them in the backseats and trunks of vehicles to multiple residences before being transported once again.
While held at the stash houses, conspirators possessed and brandished firearms and contacted the families for additional funds to facilitate transportation north. Garcia also used the aliens as payment to co-conspirators for their assistance in the stealing the aliens. But when they were unable to secure monies for some of the aliens, several conspirators sold them to members of a third alien smuggling organization.
12 others have been convicted in relation to this scheme and received sentences of up to 80 months.
Mexican nationals Quintanilla-Alcocer, 39, and Cibriano-Gonzalez, 22, also pleaded guilty in the case resulting in death and have also been sentenced.
HSI led the investigations of both cases. Border Patrol, Palmview Police Department, and Texas Department of Public Safety assisted with the case resulting in death. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lee Fry and Devin Walker prosecuted the cases.