Mexican man sentenced to almost 4 years in federal prison for human smuggling resulting in serious bodily injury

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — An alien smuggler from Mexico was sentenced Monday for his involvement in a single vehicle accident that occurred causing serious bodily injury in Kleberg County (Texas).

This investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) along with U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Border Patrol (BP), and U.S. Navy Military Police.

Mario Rodriguez-Gomez, 25, was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzalez Ramos.  He is also expected to face deportation proceedings following his release from prison.

The conviction stems from a May 14 single vehicle accident in Kleberg County that resulted in numerous injuries, including a passenger who was ejected from the vehicle. All of the vehicle’s occupants were determined to be illegal aliens from Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.

The crash occurred while Rodriguez-Gomez attempted to flee from law enforcement officers at a high rate of speed. His vehicle hit the activated security barrier gate at the entrance to Naval Air Station – Kingsville (Texas). After the collision, Rodriguez-Gomez attempted to abscond into the Naval Base. A total of 15 individuals were apprehended who were being smuggled by Rodriguez-Gomez.

Rodriguez-Gomez has been in federal custody since his arrest where he will remain pending his transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lance Watt, Southern District of Texas, prosecuted this case.