LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – A federal grand jury indicted a Bossier City, Louisiana man on human smuggling charges on Wednesday.
Rassian Nateray Comer is accused of speeding and causing a crash in Ozona, Texas that killed a 7-year-old girl, her grandmother, and two people the indictment identified as illegal aliens.
Comer now faces 13 federal charges, accused of smuggling 11 people who had illegally crossed from Mexico into the United States.
Ozona is about 85 miles southwest of San Angelo and about 120 miles south-southeast of Midland.
The crash killed 7-year-old Emilia Tambunga and her grandmother Maria Scorro Tambunga, 71, known affectionately by loved ones as “Coki”. Comer was indicted on capital murder charges for their deaths in 2023.
Maria’s daughter and Emilia’s mother, Elisa Tambunga, said in 2023 she was devastated knowing she’ll never hear her daughter call for her again.
“I just need this to not happen to anybody else. I need this to not happen to another mother. I don’t want another family to go see how their bodies were just mutilated. They were mangled. Nobody should ever have to see a family member like that, let alone a mother see their child like that,” she said.
According to court documents, a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper was conducting surveillance on State Highway 349 in Terrell County. Around 7:40 p.m. on March 13, 2023, the trooper saw a 2021 Ram 1500 pickup speeding northbound.
The trooper tried to stop the truck but it kept going, going over 100 miles per hour before turning east on Interstate 10.
A Crockett County Sheriff’s Office deputy was in the area when the truck crossed the median. According to the documents, the DPS trooper lost the truck and stopped chasing it. Another deputy with the Crockett County Sheriff’s Office then saw the truck and the chase continued.
That’s when Rassian Nateray Comer, the driver of the Ram, exited towards Ozona. While he was driving east on 15th St. and Ave. E, the indictment states Comer ran the red light at about 84 miles per hour, hitting the pickup truck driven by Maria Tambunga.
Both Emilia and Maria Tambunga died at the scene.
According to officials during a news conference on Wednesday, inside the cab and bed of the pickup Comer was driving responding law officers found 11 people who had entered the country illegally. Two of the three people inside the bed of the truck also died from their injuries. Their names were not released.
Court documents show the other nine people suffered serious injuries. According to officials, these 11 people had recently crossed into the United States from Mexico.
According to the Justice Department, Comer was driving to San Antonio, about 200 miles east on I-10 from Ozona.
Ryan Raybould, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, says federal investigations take time, but this case became a very high priority when he took over.
“We will always prioritize these cases and use every single tool to hold those who commit these types of crimes accountable,” he said.
During the investigation, officers found a loaded, stolen handgun under the brake pedal of the Ram. The indictment states Comer also started a livestream on Facebook, showing him being chased by police around the one-minute mark.
According to documents, Comer picked up 11 people near Sheffield, which is west of Ozona, just off I-10. He had been part of an “alien smuggling organization,” according to the indictment.
Comer was indicted on one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death, 11 counts of transportation of an illegal alien resulting in death and one possession of a stolen firearm.
Officials said Comer faces up to life in prison if convicted.
Tambunga’s sister, Gin Jespersen, says she’s happy Comer was federally charged, but is angry it took three years. She says she’s livid that prosecutors named Comer in the announcement Wednesday, but not her mother and niece.
She sent KCBD the following statement on behalf of her family:
“On March 13, 2023, nearly three years ago today, our family suffered two unspeakable tragedies with the murders of our beloved mother, Maria “Coke” Tambunga, and our precious 7-year old daughter/niece, Emilia “Emmy” Brooke Tambunga, at the hands of a monstrous killer working for the cartels. Birthdays and holidays celebrated at their graves, years of sleepless nights reliving their horrible last moments, Dad finding sleep on their grave pad, not knowing if those responsible would be held accountable… No family should ever have to experience the pain and loss we have endured.
Today’s indictment of Rassian Comer by the U.S. Department of Justice is the first step in securing justice for their needless deaths and to prevent other families from experiencing the tremendous pain, loss, and suffering we have endured for nearly three years, March 13, 2023, marking that gutless anniversary. Having experienced profound indifference and intentional roadblocks by the prior administration, we are truly grateful of the Trump Administration’s efforts through Attorney General Pam Bondi, U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould, and Crockett County District Attorney Stephen Dodd to seek justice for Coke and Emmi. Knowing that their killer will be held accountable constitutes a first step to healing and brings a small measure of peace to our hearts.”
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