Truck driver James Bradley, 61, was sentenced today to life in prison for his role in a human-smuggling operation that resulted in 10 fatalities.
Bradley was arrested July 23, 2017 after a truckload of baking immigrants was discovered in a San Antonio Walmart parking lot. That day, a Walmart store employee was contacted by one of the trailer’s occupants who asked for water and said that others inside the trailer needed help.
San Antonio police responded to the scene and found that 17 of the nearly 40 people inside were suffering from life threatening injury and illness due to extreme heat inside the trailer. 10 of those passengers ended up passing away.
According to KSAT, court documents estimated that the trailer contained between 70 and 180-200 people during its transport.
On October 16, 2017, Bradley pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to transport aliens resulting in death and one count of transporting aliens resulting in death.
This case is considered to be the second worst immigrant smuggling case in modern U.S. history since 19 people died after traveling in an 18-wheeler truck through Victoria, Texas, in 2003.