Reported / Citable
DEL RIO, Texas – A federal jury convicted three codefendants in a Homeland Security Task Force case for their involvement in an alien smuggling organization (ASO), announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas.
Israel Ramirez-Perez and Ricardo Rojas Vazquez were found guilty of conspiring to transport illegal aliens resulting in death, transporting illegal aliens resulting in death, conspiracy to transport illegal aliens placing lives in jeopardy, and transporting illegal aliens placing lives in jeopardy. David Christopher Ewell was found guilty of conspiring to transport illegal aliens resulting in death, transporting illegal aliens resulting in death and conspiracy to transport illegal aliens placing lives in jeopardy.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, several defendants, including Ewell, continued to manage the Alejandro Santoyo-Guzman ASO after being incarcerated in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Ewell was an alien smuggling facilitator with his significant other, co-conspirator Marcelina Truxillo-Logan. Ewell and Truxillo-Logan communicated with co-defendant Jessica Castillo-Guzman, who handled the cash flow for the ASO. Over the course of the conspiracy, evidence and testimony indicated that the ASO made over $5 million.
Ricardo Rojas Vasquez, pictured in the doorway of a Houston barbershop, involved in a shootout.
Rojas Vazquez spearheaded the ASO’s operations in Mexico and maintained a 50/50 partnership with co-conspirator Santoyo-Guzman. Ramirez-Perez served as the ASO’s enforcer and was responsible for a kidnapping, an attempted murder, and a murder. Evidence presented at trial revealed that Rojas Vazquez ordered the murder of Edgar Ponce Campos. Ramirez-Perez shot Ponce several times. After the fatal shooting, Ramirez-Perez attempted to dispose of Ponce’s body by dipping it in acid. When that proved unsuccessful, Ramirez-Perez placed the body in a vehicle, poured gasoline on it, and set it on fire. Evidence and testimony in the trial showed Ramirez-Perez filmed the burning vehicle, shot at it, and shared it with Santoyo-Guzman.
Israel Ramirez-Perez filmed the burning vehicle, shot at it, and shared it with co-defendant Alejandro Santoyo-Guzman.
“As I’ve said many times, Alien Smuggling Organizations care nothing about the lives, hopes and dreams of those they smuggle,” said U.S. Attorney Simmons. “They only care about their money. Even once aliens arrive in the U.S., alien smuggling organizations will often extort and terrorize the aliens and their families until additional fees are paid. These organizations also use the safety of homes in U.S. neighborhoods to hide those they smuggle and facilitate their illegal, extortionist schemes, endangering Americans who live close by. The Western District has set itself apart as the national leader in the prosecution of these organizations, and we will continue to aggressively prosecute those who engage in this behavior. Of course, we do this because this activity violates the law, but we also do it because it is antithetical to who we are as Americans who value the God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Ricardo Rojas Vazquez (left) and Israel Ramirez-Perez (right) pose with a Santa Muerte shrine while holding firearms
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Warsame Galaydh and Carli Tuttle are prosecuting the case.
This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF comprises agents and officers from FBI; ICE HSI; DEA; ATF; U.S. Border Patrol; USMS; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Department of Transportation; IRS Criminal Investigation; Texas Department of Public Safety; as well as local police departments and sheriff’s offices, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.
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Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Western District of Texas — U.S. Department of Justice press release.