By Jose G. Landa

The City of Eagle Pass is all in when it comes to the development of a tourist-attractive downtown area. 

DEL RIO, Texas – An Ohio man was sentenced in a federal court in Del Rio Thursday to 420 months in prison for illegal alien transportation resulting in death. 

According to court documents, Sebastian Tovar, 27, of Toledo, was driving a Dodge Ram near Del Rio on March 15, 2021, when a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) trooper attempted to stop the vehicle. Tovar tried to evade law enforcement but crashed into oncoming traffic. Eight undocumented noncitizen passengers in Tovar’s truck died in the crash, while one more was seriously injured. Additionally, two U.S. citizens were seriously injured in the head-on collision when Tovar struck their vehicle.

Following the crash, U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) agents encountered a Ford F-150 stopped in traffic near the crash site. The agents directed the driver of the Ford, to turn around and subsequently all its occupants fled on foot into nearby brush. USBP agents were able to locate 12 undocumented noncitizens who bolted from the Ford. After interviewing two of the undocumented noncitizens, USBP agents determined that the occupants of the Dodge and Ford were part of a human smuggling operation that was illegally transporting 20 undocumented noncitizens in the U.S. 

Codefendant Ruben Junior Rodriguez-Jaimes, 20, of Bastrop was sentenced last week to 180 months in prison.  Rodriguez-Jaimes was arrested on April 7, 2021, in the brush near Eagle Pass, when he was acting as the foot guide for four undocumented noncitizens.  Since December 2020, Rodriguez-Jaimes had successfully smuggled 38 migrants into the U.S.

In addition to their imprisonment, Tovar and Rodriguez-Jaimes were each ordered to pay a portion of restitution totaling the amount of $164,701.80.

“The defendants in this case displayed a complete disregard for human life, not only of the migrants they were smuggling, but also of the innocent civilians on the road the day of this incident,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas.  “This is but one example of the danger these human smuggling organizations pose to our communities and especially to the migrants they smuggle.  We are grateful for the tremendous effort and cooperation of our law enforcement partners at the federal, state and local levels and for their diligence in working to identify all of those whose conduct led to this tragedy.”

EAGLE PASS, TX – Community members in Eagle Pass Texas are invited to a gathering on Friday, August 18 at the First Methodist Church on 571 Quarry St.to discuss local impacts from oil and gas, the agency in charge of overseeing the state’s oil and gas industry, and what state and federal opportunities are available to community members.