U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle's office says Gonzalez Sanchez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport and harbor undocumented immigrants illegally under circumstances that placed the lives of people in jeopardy and caused serious bodily injury and death.
The May 2003 smuggling attempt resulted in the deaths of 19 illegal immigrants, who were packed into the back of a tractor trailer. After discovering the bodies, the driver abandoned the trailer at a truck stop near Victoria, about 100 miles southwest of Houston.
U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes re-sentenced Gonzalez Sanchez to 84 months, but she will receive credit for time served. The case landed in Hughes' court after the judge who issued the original sentence recused herself following a federal appeals court decision to send the case back for resentencing.
The judge ordered Gonzalez Sanchez to voluntarily surrender to the U.S. Marshals Service on October 20th.
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