The driver of a tractor-trailer packed with immigrants illegally entering the United States in an alleged human smuggling operation that resulted in the death of ten people has pleaded not guilty to federal charges against him.
James Matthew Bradley Jr, 60, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to five charges, including conspiracy to transport immigrants illegally for financial gain resulting in death and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
At least 39 people were inside the trailer as it drove from the border city of Laredo, Texas, to San Antonio, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) north.
James Matthew Bradley Jr, 60, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to five charges, including conspiracy to transport immigrants illegally for financial gain resulting in death and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
He was the driver of a tractor-trailer packed with immigrants illegally entering the United States in an alleged human smuggling operation, which resulted in the death of ten people
The trailer’s refrigeration system was broken, and investigators said passengers struggled to breathe as the temperature rose to dangerous levels. One witness told The Associated Press he heard people crying and asking for water.
The alleged smuggling operation resulted in at least ten deaths. Twenty-two survivors are in custody as potential witnesses. Two people remain in the hospital. Five others have been turned over to immigration authorities.
Four of the survivors testified before the grand jury, said Michael McCrum, a San Antonio attorney appointed to represent them.
‘They came to America wanting just to work, as they could not find a job in Mexico that could support their families. And yet, the circumstances of what happened brought them to this situation,’ McCrum said in an email. ‘They were asked to tell the truth about how they suffered, and they did.’
Bradley was indicted in earlier this month by a federal grand jury in San Antonio on five counts, including a count of illegally transporting immigrants for financial gain, resulting in death, and a separate count of conspiracy to transport immigrants illegally, resulting in death.
Bradley was indicted in earlier this month by a federal grand jury in San Antonio on five counts. The truck driver denied knowing people were inside the trailer
The trailer’s refrigeration system was broken, and investigators said passengers struggled to breathe as the temperature rose to dangerous levels. One witness told The Associated Press he heard people crying and asking for water
Those charges carry the possibility of the death penalty.
Bradley was also indicted on two counts related to illegally transporting immigrants resulting in serious bodily injury, and one count of firearm possession by a convicted felon. The indictment alleges Bradley, who pleaded guilty in 1997 to a felony domestic violence case in Colorado, was in possession of a .38-caliber pistol.
Investigators have said they believe Bradley was part of a broader conspiracy funding and planning the smuggling operation, though they have not announced any additional arrests or charges.
According to a criminal complaint released in July, Bradley told investigators that the trailer had been sold and he was transporting it for his boss from Iowa to Brownsville, Texas.
In late July 2017 the tractor-trailer Bradley was driving was discovered in a Walmart parking lot in San Antonio, Texas with 39 people inside
But he said he had driven to Laredo and stopped twice there before driving back to San Antonio, in the opposite direction from Brownsville.
He denied knowing people were inside the trailer.
After hearing banging and shaking, he opened the door and was ‘surprised when he was run over by ‘Spanish’ people and knocked to the ground,’ according to the criminal complaint.
Human smuggling operations often linked to Mexican drug cartels are a major problem for law enforcement along the United States’ southern border.
Border Patrol agents in West Texas found 20 people crammed in a semitrailer just this week, one day after police in the border city of Edinburg discovered 16 people inside another trailer.
Most of the people known to have been on board were from Mexico. Others are believed to have fled from the truck after it stopped.