BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) - Prosecutors say a Mexican man faces up to life in prison for the 2015 death of an immigrant struck and killed by a Coast Guard patrol boat while trying to enter the U.S. illegally.
Galdino Jose Ruiz-Hernandez of Oaxaca (wuh-HAH’-kah), Mexico, was convicted Wednesday in Brownsville of human smuggling-related charges leading to death. He remains in custody pending sentencing.
Investigators say Ruiz-Hernandez was in the water trying to guide the woman through the Brownsville Ship Channel when she was hit by a Coast Guard vessel on patrol.
Ruiz-Hernandez was arrested after reporting to Port of Brownsville officials that a friend told him he saw a woman’s body floating in the channel, leading to recovery of the victim. Investigators later determined Ruiz-Hernandez was trying to smuggle Patricia Guadalupe Cervantes Garcia.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.