McALLEN, Texas (AP) _ An illegal immigrant from Mexico must serve 15 years in a U.S. prison over the deaths of nine people who drowned in a Texas smuggling attempt.
Investigators say a vehicle overturned, in August 2004, into an irrigation canal south of Pharr. The victims were El Salvadoran and Honduran nationals.
A federal judge in McAllen on Wednesday sentenced 38-year-old Jorge Hernandez-Hernandez.
Hernandez-Hernandez, during his 2009 trial, pleaded conspiracy to transport illegal immigrants. Prosecutors say he ran stash houses for illegal immigrants
Prosecutors say Hernandez-Hernandez faces deportation after he serves his prison sentence.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)