One of the men accused of abandoning 64 people in a sweltering 18-wheeler along the stretch of a back road on the South Side of San Antonio pleaded guilty on several counts for his role in the deadliest documented human smuggling event in U.S. history.
According to the U.S. Western District Court of Texas, Homero Zamorano Jr., 48, of Elkhart, Texas appeared before U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia on Thursday morning for his charges, two counts of conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants resulting in death and one count resulting in serious injury.
He now faces a maximum penalty of life in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office Western District of Texas said in a statement. He’ll be sentenced on April 24.
On June 27, 2022, officials discovered a tractor-trailer near Quintana Road near Interstate 35. Forty-eight people were found dead at the scene. Five of the 16 people rescued later died at local hospitals.
Dozens of men, women and children were abandoned with no water inside the locked truck. They were trapped as the weather reached nearly 100 degrees.
Zamorano was the driver of the tractor-trailer that brought the immigrants from Laredo to San Antonio and knew the air conditioning didn’t work inside the truck, according to officials. He abandoned it on a semi-rural road near the highway and tried to flee, officials previously said.
According to court documents, Zamorano was in communication with Christian Martinez — who was also arrested and charged in the incident — about the smuggling.
Martinez, of Palestine, Texas, pleaded guilty to multiple charges in September 2023. He and is awaiting sentencing and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Two other suspects were arrested in connection with the incident days after the tragedy: Juan Claudio D’Luna-Mendez and Juan Francisco D’Luna-Bilbao, whose license plates were traced at the scene. They were ultimately charged with possession of a firearm while unlawfully present in the United States.
Four more arrests of Mexican nationals were made months later on suspicion of facilitating the transportation of the migrants by allegedly obtaining an 18-wheeler and handing it off to Zamorano. They all face life in prison if convicted.
As the criminal cases make their way through the system, San Antonio officials recognized the tragedy with a permanent memorial that includes the 53 victim’s names and countries of origin at the site where their bodies were discovered.