The truck driver accused of knowingly transporting illegal immigrants resulting in 10 deaths earlier this year will not face the possibility of the death penalty, according to a release by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A grand jury returned a superseding indictment last week, charging trucker James Matthew Bradley Jr., and his alleged co-conspirator Pedro Silva-Segura, with the following crimes:
- One count of conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens for financial gain resulting in death
- One count of conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens for financial gain resulting in serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy
- Two counts of transporting illegal aliens resulting in serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy
Bradley alone also faces the following charges:
- Transporting illegal aliens resulting in death
- Transporting illegal aliens resulting in serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy
- Possessing a firearm by a convicted felon
If convicted, Bradley faces life in prison on the conspiracy and transportation resulting in death charges; 20 years for the conspiracy and transportation resulting in serious bodily injury charges; and 10 years for the felon in possession charge. U.S. Attorney Richard L. Durbin Jr. announced the government will not seek the death penalty against Bradley.
Bradley’s truck was discovered shortly after midnight on July 23 with 39 undocumented aliens trapped inside a sweltering trailer in a San Antonio Walmart parking lot. Ten of the people inside the trailer were either dead when police arrived or later died in a hospital. More on the case can be seen in previous CCJ coverage.
