McALLEN, Texas – A 22-year-old Roma man has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of conspiracy to transport undocumented aliens resulting in serious bodily injury, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Orlando Gonzalez pleaded guilty Aug. 1, 2022.
Today, Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane sentenced Gonzalez to serve 72 months in federal prison followed by three years supervised release. The court found Gonzalez’s actions to be a danger to the community, noting he led law enforcement agents on a 100 mph high speed chase which resulted in a tragic rollover. Several individuals suffered life altering injuries.
In May 20, 2022, law enforcement learned that several undocumented aliens had entered a blue GMC near Fronton. As authorities arrived on scene, Gonzalez began to drive the vehicle at a high rate of speed veering on and off the main roadway. In that process, he struck one of the responding law enforcement vehicles.
Gonzalez continued to drive at a high rate of speed until he struck a utility pole which caused the vehicle to roll over multiple times, coming to rest in a local church parking lot. Two of the three undocumented aliens who were in the vehicle were ejected approximately 50ft in the air. One suffered a traumatic brain injury and was placed on life support.
At the time of the incident, Gonzalez was on supervised release from a 2020 human trafficking conviction.
He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Border Patrol and the Texas Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric D. Flores prosecuted the case.