Man Gets 15 Years in Prison for Setting up Smuggling Trip That Killed 13

Man Gets 15 Years in Prison for Setting up Smuggling Trip That Killed 13
Law enforcement officers work at the scene of a deadly crash in Holtville, Calif., on March 2, 2021. Gregory Bull/AP Photo
The Associated Press
Updated:
0:00

SAN DIEGO—A federal judge on July 13 sentenced a man to 15 years in prison for coordinating a smuggling trip in which two dozen migrants were stacked into a Ford Expedition that crashed into a tractor-trailer, killing 13 people outside a California desert town.

Jose Cruz Noguez pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges stemming from the March 2, 2021, crash near Holtville, about 125 miles east of San Diego. It was one of the deadliest highway crashes involving migrants smuggled into the United States.