3 Men Face Charges of Human Smuggling

[Rose Siding]

HOUSTON - The first trial stemming from the nation's deadliest human smuggling attempt was set to begin Monday in federal court, more than 1 1/2 years after 19 illegal immigrants died in a packed, sweltering trailer on a Texas highway.

Victor Jesus Rodriguez, Claudia Carrizales de Villa and Fredy Giovanni Garcia-Tobar each face 58 counts of harboring and transporting illegal immigrants. Each faces up to life in prison if convicted.
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Seventeen of the immigrants from Mexico, Central America and the Dominican Republic died in the packed, poorly ventilated tractor-trailer, which authorities estimate reached 173 degrees. Two others died later.

One immigrant dialed 911 on a cellular phone and pleaded for help in Spanish. By the time a South Texas police dispatcher found someone to translate, the call had been lost.

Another immigrant hung a bandanna out of a hole in the trailer's back door. A motorist saw the signal, but his mobile phone wasn't working, so he couldn't call authorities in time.

Early the next morning, the trailer was abandoned at a truck stop about 100 miles southwest of Houston. The victims died from dehydration, hyperthermia and suffocation, police said.

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