LAREDO, Texas - A 36-year-old Dallas man has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction conspiracy transport undocumented aliens, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.
Manuel Joe Reyes pleaded guilty May 10, 2018.
Today, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo handed Reyes a 96-month sentence to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. He was further ordered to pay a $5,000 fine.
At the hearing, the court heard testimony regarding how Reyes would recruit drivers and make between $20,000 and $30,000 a week smuggling undocumented aliens. Judge Marmolejo noted Reyes used his intelligence to convince others to commit crime. She admonished him that some of the drivers he hired had been incarcerated themselves.
On May 9, 2017, Darian Wade Humphrey drove up to the United States Border Patrol Checkpoint located on Interstate Highway 35 north of Laredo in a tractor-trailer. At that time, a K-9 alerted to the vehicle. Upon inspection, authorities found 32 individuals locked inside the trailer, all of whom were later determined to be undocumented aliens from Mexico. Four of them were minors between the ages of 15 and 17.
Humphrey admitted Reyes had hired him to transport undocumented aliens from Laredo to San Antonio. Humphrey claimed to have done so on four prior occasions and that he was paid $3,000 per load.
Law enforcement arrested Reyes Dec. 6, 2017, at his home in Dallas. He admitted he had been organizing human smuggling events between Mexico and the United States by hiring drivers and coordinating deliveries. Reyes estimated that between two and three loads of undocumented aliens were smuggled weekly, with each load averaging 20 people. He said he received $10,000 per load and his drivers were paid $3,000.
Humphrey also pleaded guilty. U.S. District Judge Hilda Tagle sentenced him to 37 months with three years of supervised release on Feb. 7, 2018.
Previously released on bond, Reyes was taken into custody following the sentencing today where he will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Francisco J. Rodriguez is prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
