San Antonio man sentenced to 41 months for transporting illegal aliens in open truck bed

LAREDO, Texas – A 37-year-old San Antonio resident has been ordered to federal prison for transporting 10 illegal aliens, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

Jonathan Ray Balderas pleaded guilty Feb. 6. 

U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo has now ordered Balderas to serve 41 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court considered images showing the substantial risk of death or bodily injury Balderas created by transporting eight of the 10 aliens in the open bed of his truck, covered only by a thin tarp. The court also considered the loaded pistol found on Balderas’s waistband and communications indicating his involvement in other smuggling events.

“Placing human beings in the back of a truck under a tarp while carrying a loaded firearm shows a blatant disregard for life and the law. All it would have taken is a single driver error to cause multiple people to lose their lives,” said Ganjei. “The Southern District of Texas will bring to justice anybody who seeks to make a quick buck through unlawful and dangerous and smuggling operations.”

“Human smuggling is a serious federal crime that endangers lives and threatens the security of our communities,” said Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) San Antonio Special Agent in Charge Craig S. Larrabee. “HSI in close coordination with our partners at U.S. Border Patrol, is committed to dismantling smuggling networks and holding individuals accountable for their actions. The arrest of Jonathan Balderas and the recovery of 10 smuggled aliens underscores the importance of our continued efforts to combat this dangerous criminal activity and bring offenders to justice.”

On Nov. 18, 2024, law enforcement observed Balderas’s truck attempting to circumvent the U.S. Border Patrol (BP) checkpoint at the 29-mile marker of Interstate Highway 35. Authorities noticed the outline of people inside the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop. As they approached, they observed shoes protruding out from under the tarp.

Authorities discovered eight illegal aliens in the truck’s open bed and two more hiding inside. The aliens were citizens of Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. 

Balderas will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

ICE-HSI and BP conducted the investigation with the assistance of Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas Game Wardens. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Tae W. Chon prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.