October 13, 2024 – SAN DIEGO, CA – Felipe de Jesus Rosales-Herrera of Riverside was sentenced in federal court on Friday to 120 months in prison for leading an extensive migrant smuggling ring responsible for illegally transporting more than 100 migrants and causing one death.

According to his plea agreement, Rosales-Herrera employed foot guides to lead migrants over the border and drivers to pick them up on the U.S. side and deliver them to a stash house to meet a sponsor. Rosales-Herrera admitted that he charged approximately $10,000 per migrant. According to court documents, some of the smuggling events in the conspiracy resulted in high-speed chases and crashes, which placed the migrants, drivers, law enforcement and members of the public at risk. This culminated in a tragic collision on December 25, 2021.

Rosales admitted in his plea agreement that, even after learning his driver killed someone, he and his co-conspirators continued the conspiracy. As co-defendant John Douglas Oglesby III admitted in his plea agreement, drivers were told to flee if Border Patrol attempted to pull them over. Unfortunately, many drivers did just that, resulting in numerous high-speed chases and several crashes.

During the Christmas Day event in 2021, Kevin Antonio Quevedo-Moncada, acting under the supervision of co-defendant (and Rosales’ subordinate in the smuggling ring) Jose Luis Alejo-Cruz, picked up three undocumented migrants in a remote area. When Border Patrol attempted to pull him over, Quevedo-Moncada fled into a nearby campground, swerving wildly and careening around a field at high speed before ramming a Border Patrol vehicle to escape. As agents pursued him, he sped away on wet, winding roads, reaching speeds of close to 100 mph. Quevedo-Moncada lost control of his car and struck a tree, killing one of the migrants and leaving the other two in critical condition. Quevedo-Moncada pleaded guilty to charges related to this incident. Alejo-Cruz discussed the smuggling event with Rosales before the crash. Shortly after the crash, Rosales sent Alejo-Cruz a news article about the accident and confirmed that it was their driver.

Alejo-Cruz also relied on intimidation to preserve his position, tracking down and robbing two of his former drivers at gunpoint when he felt they had wronged him and plotting to kidnap a rival migrant smuggler.

“You traded in human life, trafficked in people… to line your own pockets” U.S. District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo told the defendant at Friday’s hearing. “The worst-case scenario in alien smuggling, where someone died, did not deter you.” Judge Bencivengo ultimately ruled that the appropriate sentence was “fully and fairly the statutory maximum.”

“These smugglers viewed migrants as dollar signs, not people,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath. “This significant sentence demonstrates the importance of protecting the public from the reckless tactics of criminal networks.”

“This event highlights the danger that these criminal organizations pose to the migrants they are transporting as well as the general public.” said U.S. Border Patrol, San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Patrica McGurk-Daniel. “This outcome is the result of a concerted effort by Border Patrol agents and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to dismantle human smuggling networks and bring those responsible to justice.  The sentencing today sends a clear message; if you smuggle people across our borders, you will face serious consequences.”

Co-defendants Alejo-Cruz and Oglesby were previously sentenced to 120 months and 70 months in federal prison, respectively. The final defendant, Miguel Isaac Villa-Gomez, is scheduled to be sentenced on December 6, 2024.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Benjamin.

DEFENDANTS                                             Case Number 23-CR-871-CAB

Felipe de Jesus Rosales-Herrera               Age: 38               Riverside County, CA

Jose Luis Alejo-Cruz                                    Age: 23                Long Beach, CA

John Douglas Oglesby III                             Age: 20                Chesapeake, VA

Miguel Isaac Villa-Gomez                           Age: 27                Downey, CA

Case Number 22-CR-1995-B__

John Douglas Oglesby III                             Age: 20                Chesapeake, VA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Conspiracy to Transport Aliens – Title 8, U.S.C., Section 1324

Maximum penalty: Ten years in prison and $250,000 fine

INVESTIGATING AGENCY

United States Border Patrol