A 36-year-old Brownsville man has been sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for unlawfully transporting an illegal alien, according to U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. Juan Andres Vasquez was found guilty by a federal jury during a one-day trial on November 6, 2024.
U.S. District Judge David S. Morales also ordered Vasquez to serve three years of supervised release after his prison sentence. The court was shown evidence of Vasquez’s criminal past, including his classification as a lifetime sex offender and previous assault offenses, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The event occurred on August 2, 2024, when Vasquez drove to the Javier Vega Jr. Border Patrol checkpoint with two passengers. An immigration inspection found that the front-seat passenger was unlawfully present in the United States. Vasquez claimed during the trial that he was solicited for a ride, but testimony revealed that he asked the passenger to hide his Mexican identification card and was waiting at a designated spot, according to the release.
Vasquez will stay in detention until he is transferred to a facility run by the United States Bureau of Prisons. Border Patrol handled the investigation, while Liesel Roscher and Ashley A. Pruitt, Assistant United States Attorneys, prosecuted the case.