Man convicted of setting up smuggling trip that killed 13 in California gets 15 years in prison
smuggling trip in which two dozen migrants were stacked into a Ford Expedition that crashed into a tractor-trailer, killing 13 people outside a California desert town.Jose Cruz Noguez pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges stemming from the March 2, 2021, crash near Holtville, about 125 miles east of San Diego.
It was one of the deadliest highway crashes involving migrants smuggled into the United States.Cruz Noguez also admitted to trying to still get payment for the smuggling trip from the survivors, prosecutors said.
Neither Cruz Noguez nor his attorney could be reached for comment."Cruz Noguez organized one of the most callous and inhumane smuggling attempts that law enforcement has responded to in this district," U.S.
Attorney Randy Grossman said. "He and his co-conspirators treated these individuals like a worthless commodity."Cruz Noguez arranged for the Ford Expedition and a GMC Yukon to be modified by removing the passenger seats so people could be stacked on top of each other, prosecutors said.
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