TUCSON, Ariz. — A Tucson man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after his human smuggling activities resulted in one of his juvenile recruits getting lost in the Arizona desert and dying of dehydration.
Adrian Duran-Estrada, 39, was sentenced last week in federal court after pleading guilty to conspiring to transport undocumented migrants.
Prosecutors said the defendant's crimes were particularly egregious due to how they were connected to the death of a 17-year-old in May 2019.
The teenager had reportedly been working for the defendant and was assigned to travel out into the desert to guide a group of migrants.
The defendant's lawyers claim the boy got into some sort of dispute with the migrants, resulting in him getting lost. Court records show that the teenager eventually called Duran-Estrada and left a voicemail asking for help.
"...boss, please I’m begging. I made it as far as, as fast as I can.” the teen said in the message, “Nobody has nothing to drink. We’re dehydrated as (expletive).”
The defendant's lawyer claims that Duran-Estrada did everything he could to help the lost teen.
"While tragic and unfortunate, (the teen) getting into an altercation with the aliens and getting kicked out of the car and stranded in the desert is the reason he died. Mr. Duran did all he could to locate (the teen) and sent others to rescue him," defense counsel wrote in a memo.
The boy's body was found by hunters in September 2019. Prosecutors say he presumably died of dehydration and that his death was completely "preventable."
"Even after the death of (the teen), the defendant continued in his alien smuggling activities up to his arrest on May 4, 2021," prosecutors wrote in a statement.
Prosecutors connected Duran-Estrada to at least two other acts of human smuggling that occurred in southern Arizona during the summer of 2019. The defendant used WhatsApp and text messages to communicate with co-conspirators who helped move migrants across the desert.
After completing his lengthy sentence, the defendant will be placed on probation for three years. He's also been ordered to $20,000.