Accomplice Sentenced in Deaths of Two Immigrants Smuggled in Trunk at San Diego-Tijuana Border

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Beena M. McDonald (619) 546-9774

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick J. Bumatay (619) 546-8450 and Michael Wheat (619) 546-8437

NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – July 10, 2017

SAN DIEGO – Pedro Velasco-Manzano was sentenced in federal court today to 12 months in custody for actions that ultimately resulted in the deaths of two unauthorized immigrants who perished in the trunk of a car at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in August 2014.

As part of the plea agreement, Velasco-Manzano, a citizen of Mexico, admitted he helped arrange the smuggling of Mexican citizens Tarcisio Casas-Blanco and Jose Aurelio Quiroz-Casas into the United States in August 2014 for a fee of $11,500 – an amount that included his $200 take. After speaking directly with the victims, Velasco-Manzano arranged for them to be housed in Tijuana until plans for a smuggling event could be made by his superiors. Velasco-Manzano then transported the victims from their stash house and delivered them directly to the smugglers, Nicholas George Zakov and Eduard Ervemac Saavedra.

Saavedra enticed Zakov to smuggle the victims into the United States with the prospect of $3,500 cash. On the morning of August 12, 2014, Saavedra arranged for the two victims to be hidden in the trunk of Zakov’s Dodge Challenger in Tijuana, Mexico. Saavedra then directed Zakov to enter the United States through the San Ysidro Port of Entry with Casas-Blanco and Quiroz-Casas remaining in the trunk, exposing them to rising temperatures and little ventilation. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers later discovered Casas-Blanco and Quiroz-Casas unresponsive inside the Challenger’s trunk. Medical attention was immediately sought for the two, but they died a short while later of hyperthermia and mechanical asphyxiation.

Zakov, a U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty in 2015 to alien smuggling charges for his role in the deaths of the victims and was sentenced to 84 months in prison. Saavedra, a Peruvian citizen, pleaded guilty in 2016 to alien smuggling charges for his role in the deaths of the victims and was sentenced to 63 months in prison. U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Battaglia sentenced Zakov, Saavedra, and now Velasco-Manzano.

The investigation and arrest of Velasco-Manzano was the result of the collaboration of Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, San Diego Police Department, and the Baja California State Preventive Police Department.

DEFENDANT                                   Criminal Case No. 17CR0561-AJB

Pedro Velasco-Manzano                     Age: 44                      Oaxaca, Mexico

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Counts 1 and 2: Encouraging and Inducing Illegal Aliens, Aiding and Abetting, 8 U.S.C. §1324(a)(1)(A)(iv), and (v)(II)

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Homeland Security Investigations

San Diego Police Department

Baja California State Preventive Police Department