San Antonio (WBAP/KLIF News) – The driver of the truck carrying dozens of illegal immigrants made his first court appearance Monday. James Mathew Bradley, 60, has been charged with transporting immigrants who are in the country illegally.
In the criminal complaint, an agent with Homeland Security Investigations wrote Bradley told investigators he did not know his cargo. He said his boss told him the trailer had been sold, so he was delivering the trailer to Brownsville.
In San Antonio, he said he had stopped to use the restroom and heard people banging. When he opened the door, he said up to 40 people started running, but Bradley said he did not call 911.
Immigrants told investigators they were loaded into a trailer in Laredo Saturday morning, but they did not leave for San Antonio until 9 o’clock that night.
Bradley could face the death penalty. Current law allows greater penalties when immigrants die during smuggling operations. He will remain in jail until his next hearing on Thursday.
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