Mexican sentenced in plot to fly immigrants to San Antonio

BROWNSVILLE — A Mexican man was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison for his role in a scheme to fly five Mexican immigrants — who authorities say were in the country illegally — to San Antonio on a charter plane.

Federal officials at the McAllen-Miller International Airport spotted Jorge Luis Gallegos-Avila, 39, of Tampico, Mexico, dropping the immigrants off at the airport on June 20, and officials then boarded the plane and detained the immigrants.

The immigrants identified Gallegos as one of the men who picked them up after they crossed the Rio Grande. They said he maintained them in stash houses before driving them to the airport with instructions to say they were U.S. citizens if questioned.

Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa sentenced Gallegos-Avila on Wednesday.

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