Assistant U. S. Attorney Michael G. Wheat (619) 546-8437
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY - Sept. 3, 2019
SAN DIEGO - Neil Edwin Valera, a U.S. citizen who resides in Tijuana, was arraigned in federal court today in connection with the deaths of three Chinese migrants, including a mother and her 15-year-old son, who were found in the trunk of Valera’s BMW two days after he crossed into the United States through the San Ysidro Port of Entry in the same car.
Valera, a truck driver from El Paso, Texas, was taken into custody at the downtown bus station on Saturday. He was charged via complaint with Encouraging Aliens to Enter Resulting in Death and Bringing in Aliens without Presentation for Financial Gain.
On Aug. 11, 2019, at 4:54 p.m., San Diego police received an emergency 911 call from a person reporting a foul odor and blood dripping from a suspicious vehicle with Texas license plates parked near the 2100 block of Jaime Avenue in San Diego.
San Diego police officers discovered a 1999 silver BMW with a Texas license plate. The officers lifted the trunk and found what initially appeared to be two deceased Asian females. Homicide detectives found an additional victim, an Asian male, pressed up against the rear wall of the trunk. A witness said the car was first noticed two days earlier and no one was seen coming or going.
Video recordings show the same car crossing into the United States from Mexico on August 9, 2019, at the San Ysidro port of entry at 3:14 p.m. According to the complaint, the driver was Valera, the registered owner of the vehicle. Valera used his Sentri card to enter into the U.S. After that day, Valera only crossed into the United States on foot, through pedestrian lanes at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
“These tragic cases are grim reminders that attempting to cross into the United States illegally in the trunk of a car - and putting your faith, hope and future in the hands of smugglers - is extremely dangerous," said U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer. “My office will aggressively prosecute those who smuggle others into the United States for financial gain, place vulnerable people in grave danger, and recklessly cause deaths."
This case is the result of the ongoing efforts of the Violent Crime and Human Trafficking (VCHT) Section. Formed in 2019, by U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer, the VCHT is tasked with leading collaborations between federal and local law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of cases involving violent crimes, firearms and gang cases; sex trafficking and child exploitation; civil rights, and labor trafficking. The VCHT Section oversees the Southern District of California Coordinators for Project Safe Neighborhoods, Human Trafficking, and Project Safe Childhood. The VCHT Section also provides federal prosecutors to the downtown San Diego Violent Crimes Task Force-Gang Group, the North County Gang Task Force, and the East County Gang Task Force.
DEFENDANT Case Number 19mj3525
Neil Edwin Valera Age: 50 Tijuana
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Encouraging Aliens to Enter Resulting in Death - Title 8, U.S.C., Section 1324(a)(1)(A)(vi) and (B)(iv)
Maximum penalty: Life in prison or death and $250,000 fine
Bringing in Aliens without Presentation for Financial Gain - Title 8, U.S.C., Section 1324(a)(2)(B)(ii)
Maximum penalty: Mandatory minimum three years, up to 15 years in prison
AGENCY
San Diego Police Department
Homeland Security Investigations
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
