A man federal prosecutors say helped coordinate a human-smuggling panga that capsized off the Del Mar coast in May is set to learn his fate today in federal court. The crash killed migrants and touched off a massive multiagency rescue effort, turning what started as a covert run along the shoreline into a high-profile criminal case with heavy potential penalties.
Sergio Rojas-Fregoso, 31, is scheduled for sentencing today, according to NBC 7 San Diego. Local reporting and court filings indicate he is one of five people that federal authorities link to the smuggling operation tied to the deadly capsize.
Court records and a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office state that two complaints were filed charging five people in connection with the incident, and that the overturned panga on May 5 left at least three migrants dead and several others injured. The release also notes that Rojas-Fregoso had previously been deported on December 19, 2023, and identifies the federal prosecutors assigned to the case.
The May 5 capsize and the victims
Witnesses reported that the panga flipped over just north of Torrey Pines State Beach early on May 5, and that lifeguards and bystanders rushed in to pull survivors out of the water, according to Times of San Diego. Officials later recovered bodies from the scene and transported multiple injured people to local hospitals, while the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies carried out an extensive search along the coast.
Charges and potential penalties
Federal prosecutors say the two men accused of piloting the vessel, Julio Cesar Zuniga-Luna and Jesus Ivan Rodriguez-Leyva, were charged with bringing in aliens resulting in death, counts that can carry sentences of up to life in prison or, in certain circumstances, the death penalty. The other three defendants, including Rojas-Fregoso, face transportation and reentry charges with maximum terms of up to 10 years, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors have cast the case as a deadly example of the risks associated with maritime smuggling operations along the Southern California coast.
Arrest and investigation
Authorities say Rojas-Fregoso made it out of the water after the crash but was later tracked down when agents stopped an SUV that had been seen speeding away from the beach. Border Patrol agents found eight migrants inside that vehicle, according to FOX 11. Two other suspects were taken into custody on the beach that same morning, and multiple federal and local agencies, including Homeland Security Investigations and the Coast Guard, joined the investigation.
What to watch
At today’s hearing, the judge is expected to decide whether Rojas-Fregoso will serve a federal prison term under the transportation and reentry statutes, with prosecutors presenting the government’s recommendations and arguments in court, according to NBC 7 San Diego. The crash, along with other recent panga cases along the Southern California shoreline, has renewed scrutiny of maritime smuggling and the dangers it poses both to migrants attempting the journey and to the first responders who rush in when those trips go wrong, as reported by Times of San Diego.
