A South Texas man has been convicted by a Corpus Christi jury on charges of transporting undocumented immigrants, as announced by U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. Alberto Chavez Jr., 28, of Sullivan City, faced a swift judgment with the jury returning a guilty verdict after deliberating for less than 45 minutes "following a one-day trial," according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
During the trial, evidence was presented that on November 2, 2024, Chavez approached a Border Patrol checkpoint in Falfurrias with two passengers, falsely claiming they were his cousins and were seeking work in the north. It was to quickly become evident that the narrative was fabricated — the passengers were, in fact, citizens of Honduras without legal status in the United States.
The court learned how these individuals had crossed the Rio Grande River around a month prior and had since been moved between various "stash houses." It was the night before the incident at the checkpoint when Chavez had picked them up. Further testimony uncovered that Chavez had gone to the extent to buy clothes for the men to make them appear more "American" and instructed them on what to say to circumvent immigration scrutiny, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
"The aliens also stated they had specifically informed Chavez they were illegally present in the United States," the U.S. Attorney's Office reported. Despite Chavez's defense arguing he had merely agreed to give the men a ride, the jury was not convinced and found him guilty as charged.
U.S. District Judge David S. Morales oversaw the trial and is set to sentence Chavez on June 18. Chavez could face up to five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine. Pending his sentencing, Chavez, who was on bond, has been taken into custody. The Border Patrol conducted the investigation, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Griffith and Zachary Bird leading the prosecution.
