Gavel on American flag, close up.
SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — A San Antonio woman now has a sentence of 132 months in prison for conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death.
According to court documents, Erica Aracely Carmona, 36, is also ordered to pay a money judgment of $955,350.
Carmona was a member of an alien smuggling organization that brought illegal aliens to San Antonio from the area around Eagle Pass. Carmona’s role included coordinating smuggling operations with co-conspirators in Mexico and directing other members of the conspiracy in regard to payments and driver coordination.
On May 25, 2021, a driver with the operation transported a trailer containing illegal aliens from a residence in Eagle Pass to San Antonio. When the trailer arrived, one of the aliens was near death, and died about one hour later. Co-conspirators dumped the deceased illegal alien into a ditch within a few miles of a Von Ormy property belonging to Carmona that was being used as a drop-off location. The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office recovered the body along with the deceased alien’s ID card on May 30, 2021.
ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) determined that Carmona had purchased the property in Von Ormy specifically for the purpose of alien smuggling with proceeds from the operations. After the arrest of co-conspirator Evan John Herrera, ICE HSI found WhatsApp communications pertaining to alien smuggling between Herrera and Carmona.
The operation smuggled more than 500 illegal aliens into the U.S., and generated over $4.7 million in proceeds between January 2021 and July 2022.
Just over a year later, multiple charges would be filed after 53 illegal aliens were found dead in a tractor trailer in San Antonio.
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