A San Antonio man has been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for transporting 10 undocumented immigrants, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Jonathan Ray Balderas, 37, pleaded guilty earlier this year. U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo ordered the sentence and added three years of supervised release after his prison term. During the sentencing hearing, the court reviewed images showing that eight of the individuals were transported in the open bed of Balderas’s truck under a thin tarp, creating significant danger. The court also noted that Balderas was carrying a loaded pistol and had communications linking him to other smuggling activities.
“Human smuggling is a serious federal crime that endangers lives and threatens the security of our communities,” said Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) San Antonio Special Agent in Charge Craig S. Larrabee. “HSI in close coordination with our partners at U.S. Border Patrol, is committed to dismantling smuggling networks and holding individuals accountable for their actions. The arrest of Jonathan Balderas and the recovery of 10 smuggled aliens underscores the importance of our continued efforts to combat this dangerous criminal activity and bring offenders to justice.”
The incident occurred on November 18, 2024, when law enforcement saw Balderas attempting to avoid a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate Highway 35 near mile marker 29. Officers noticed outlines inside his vehicle and stopped it; they found shoes sticking out from under a tarp in the truck bed.
Authorities discovered eight people riding unprotected in the truck’s open bed and two more hidden inside the cab. The group included citizens from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala.
Balderas will remain in custody until he is transferred to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility.
The investigation involved ICE-HSI, U.S. Border Patrol, Texas Department of Public Safety, and Texas Game Wardens. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Tae W. Chon prosecuted the case.
