Two men received 10-year prison sentences for separate human smuggling incidents in Frio County in 2024.
FRIO COUNTY, Texas — Two men were each sentenced to 10 years in prison for separate human smuggling cases in Frio County that happened back in 2024.
31-year-old Andre Coronado-Vigil said in court that what he was doing wasn’t illegal in Houston and that this was a border scam.
The Frio County Sheriff’s Office stopped Coronado-Vigil near Pearsall on April 19, 2024.
Deputies say he was speeding, but when Coronado-Vigil pulled over, deputies say several passengers jumped out and ran into nearby brush. One person was found hiding in the back of the SUV.
Coronado-Vigil was arrested on the spot. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison on September 10 and has a pending sexual assault of a child case in Harris County.
Guadalupe Rodriguez III of Cotulla was the second man sentenced to 10 years last Wednesday, after taking a plea deal for human smuggling.
Rodriguez was stopped March 24, 2024 after Frio County deputies stopped his car for impeding traffic.
Deputies say a passenger ran out of the car after the driver was stopped. Deputies then found two undocumented migrants inside the vehicle.
Rodriguez will now spend a decade in prison. He has a prior conviction for conspiracy to possess and sell meth.