Four men illegally crossing the Rio Grande indicted for claiming to be minors

McALLEN, Texas – A federal grand jury has returned four indictments against non-citizen adults for falsely claiming they were under the age of 18, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Lowery.

The separate, but similar indictments charge Fernando Antonio Flores-Galvez, 19, Jose Alfredo Sandoval-Hernandez, 23, Osmin Trochez-Miranda, 24, all from Honduras; and Sergio Galindo Chun-Cucul, 23, Guatemala. Originally charged by complaint and in custody, they are expected to make appearances before a magistrate judge in the near future.

Each of the charges indicate the men had illegally crossed the Rio Grande. They then allegedly claimed to be minors so they could be released into United States. The charges further allege each man had used false documents with incorrect birth dates in an attempt to convince authorities they were under the age of 18.

Flores-Galvan and Sandoval-Hernandez were arrested as they attempted to enter the United States April 21, while law enforcement took Trochez-Miranda and Chun-Cucul into custody April 28 and May 3, respectively.

If convicted, each face up to five years in prison as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine.

Border Patrol conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney E. Paxton Warner is prosecuting the cases.  

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.