CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — After deliberating for only 45 minutes, 51-year-old Andrew Rafael Martinez-Peralta of Newark, New Jersey, was found guilty Tuesday following a two-day trial before a federal jury for the transportation of undocumented aliens into the U.S. at the Federal Courthouse downtown.
According to a press release from U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani, Martinez-Peralta was arrested after the tractor-trailer he drove to the Sarita Border Patrol checkpoint was searched after a K-9 alerted to the sleeper area. Border Patrol Officers discovered seven illegal aliens hidden within the bed compartment inside the cab of the truck in a toolbox under the bed and inside a closet.
During the trial, a witness stated that he had agreed to pay $25,000 to be smuggled into the United States from Brazil. His final destination would be in Massachusetts.
“Martinez-Peralta claimed he didn’t know that there were seven migrants in the sleeper area of his tractor-trailer, a claim so incredible that it took the jury less than an hour to find him guilty,” said Hamdani. “The smuggling of migrants across Texas’ southern border is a pernicious problem made worse by human smugglers, like Martinez-Peralta, who use their tractor-trailers and the cover of legitimate commercial activities to mask illegal and harmful activities.”
Proceeding over the trial was U.S. District Judge David S. Morales, who will set sentencing for May 22. Martinez-Peralta faces up to five years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
