Mexican citizen illegally living in Houston faces life in prison for human smuggling that left 2 dead
Judge gavel, scales of justice and law books in court. (Brian A. Jackson/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
HOUSTON - A 38-year-old Mexican citizen illegally living in Houston pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport and harbor aliens, resulting in death. Efrain Rodriguez-Mendoza is the last of six to be convicted as part of the scheme that resulted in the death of two people. He faces up to life in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
Between Nov. 6-17, 2006, Rodriguez-Mendoza and Wilmar Rene Duran-Gomez schemed with others to harbor illegal aliens in Houston. They would then take them to locations within Texas and throughout the United States for money.
Duran-Gomez operated a warehouse business in Houston where conspirators held illegal aliens until they paid their smuggling fees or had transportation arranged.
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While held there, the smuggled people were placed in two groups - paid and unpaid. Those in the unpaid group were beaten and accused of trying to escape the warehouse. They were also not given food or water or even allowed to use the restroom. Some were naked and had their hands bound.
The schemers would call their families to demand payment of smuggling fees. They said the aliens were being beaten and would be killed if their fees were not paid.
Two of those in the unpaid group were subjected to the most brutal of the beatings and died as a result of days of assaults.
Following the deaths, Rodriguez-Mendoza, Duran-Gomez and Jose Bolanos-Garza wrapped the two victims with blankets, loaded them onto a truck and doused the bodies with gasoline. They drove to a field in Fort Bend County and tried to set the truck on fire, but failed. They left the truck in the field with the victims’ bodies inside the vehicle.
Authorities found the victims around Nov. 16, 2006.
"These defendants violated the trust of victims when they agreed to transport them to a safe place in the United States," said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. "Instead, they brutalized them and beat them to death, all because they could not pay to be released. These violent criminals will no longer be able to prey on victims and their families."
Wilmar Rene Duran-Gomez, 52, a citizen of El Salvador illegally living in Houston, entered his plea Dec. 9.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt accepted the pleas for both Rodriguez-Mendoza and Duran-Gomez, and set sentencing for March 2025. Both men have been and will remain in custody pending that hearing.
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Jose Fuentes, from Mexico, Patricia Holguin, and Mauricio Mercado, both from El Salvador, were the other names listed related to this case.
"In my 29 years working in law enforcement, I’ve unfortunately had to witness some unspeakable horrors, but what these men did to these migrants is pure evil and among the most reprehensible and vile criminal actions I’ve ever encountered," said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) - Houston Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz. "Thanks to the dedicated special agents and law enforcement officers who tirelessly worked to uncover their identities and connect them to these crimes, they will be held accountable for their actions, but I plead with anyone thinking of relying on human smugglers to illegally enter the U.S. to stop and think about the potential consequences. Not only are you jeopardizing your ability to ever obtain legal status in the country, you’re putting your life in the hands of merciless transnational criminal organizations that routinely assault, kidnap and even murder the people they are paid to supposedly help."