CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A federal jury in Corpus Christi has convicted a 49-year-old Cuban man for conspiring to unlawfully transport non-citizens across the border, the U.S. Attorney's Southern District Office announced Tuesday.
Deivis Reinaldo Rodriguez-Ramirez is the third man to be convicted for his role in a smuggling attempt that was discovered on Aug. 21, 2023, when Daikiel Perdomo-Castro, another man involved in the incident, drove a tractor-trailer into a Border Patrol checkpoint near Falfurrias.
The jury deliberated for less than one hour before finding him guilty after only a two-day trial. Rodriguez-Ramirez will be allowed to remain on bond before his sentencing on Dec. 4.
Law enforcement officers said there were initially no other visible occupants in the vehicle other than Perdomo-Castro.
They asked him to drive the vehicle through an X-ray inspection-- that's when officers said they discovered Rodriguez-Ramirez, who had moved into the passenger seat, and eight individuals illegally present and attempting to hide in the sleeper compartment of the tractor.
Macdiel Labrada-Martin, reported to be the third orchestrator in the attempt, was also found in the sleeper compartment.
The defendant's attorney reportedly told a jury in U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales-Ramos' courtroom that Rodriguez-Ramirez had no part in the offense despite being in the truck.
Perdomo-Castro, 40, and Labrada-Martin, 32, both of Louisville, Kentucky, previously pleaded guilty and received sentences of nine and 15 months in federal prison, respectively.
Rodriguez-Ramirez faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 fine.
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