U.S. Attorney’s Office Western District of Texas press release
A federal jury in Del Rio convicted a Luling man for one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens and one count of illegal alien transportation for profit.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Bryant Anthony Garcia, 19, was the passenger in a vehicle driven by co-defendant Juan Angel Soberanes, 18, of Luling, on Oct. 1, 2024. U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to a checkpoint near Del Rio instructed Soberanes to advance to secondary inspection when a second vehicle, driven by co-defendant Carlos Daniel Martinez, 25, of Fort Worth, arrived at the checkpoint.
Martinez’s vehicle was occupied by a fourth defendant, Mexican national Joel Hernandez-Ortiz, 26, in the front passenger seat and two illegal aliens sitting in the rear passenger seats. The USBP agents learned that the two vehicles were traveling together.
In an interview with the agents, Garcia stated that he and his high school friend, Soberanes, left Luling together the previous day.
He admitted that the two had traveled to Eagle Pass to scout for law enforcement and facilitate the smuggling of two illegal aliens. Garcia state that he expected to receive $2,000 for his efforts.
Co-defendants Hernandez-Ortiz and Martinez pleaded guilty on Jan. 13, 2025 to one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens.
Soberanes pleaded guilty to the same charge on Feb. 10, 2025.
