A Chattanooga man has been sentenced to federal prison for attempting to smuggle more than 20 unauthorized immigrants in a tractor trailer, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.
Josef Alquan Rutley, 38, pleaded guilty in February to unlawfully transporting 22 individuals. U.S. District Judge David Morales sentenced Rutley to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, the news release said.
Rutley was stopped Dec. 19 at the Falfurrias Border Patrol checkpoint while driving a tractor trailer. He told agents he was headed to Laredo and denied carrying any passengers. Agents said he appeared nervous and avoided eye contact, which led to a secondary inspection.
An X-ray scan revealed 22 people locked inside the trailer with no way to escape. The group included individuals from Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, the news release stated.
At sentencing, the court highlighted the dangerous conditions and the inability of the passengers to escape in an emergency.
“Human smuggling can often turn deadly,” U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei said in a statement. “The Southern District of Texas is doing everything it can to deter people from being smuggled and to punish those who make their money by trafficking other human beings.”
Rutley will remain in custody pending transfer to a federal prison facility.
— Compiled by Dasia Williams