A minivan driver who crashed in Boulevard while smuggling undocumented migrants was sentenced Aug. 12 to 18 months in federal prison.
U.S. District Court Judge John Houston rejected the 12-month recommendation from the attorney for Ashley Alexandra Moreno, 24, of Mexicali.
“You endangered others’ lives,” said Houston to Moreno.
Houston said U.S. Border Patrol agents broke off their pursuit of Moreno because the chase was getting too dangerous. However, Moreno kept going and overturned the minivan, injuring everyone and herself.
She lost control of the vehicle and overturned in the 1000 block of Shasta Way in Boulevard. Agents called an ambulance and all of them were taken to a hospital.
Houston told Moreno she fled the vehicle without checking on the four men inside who were injured.
“You bail. Then you hide,” said Houston. “You endangered other innocent people…to save yourself and get away.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Mokhtari said Moreno drove at 90 mph until she “spun out of control.” He said the four men inside the van were not wearing seat belts.
“She’s lucky worse didn’t happen,” Mokhtari said, adding the men could have been killed and she would have faced a longer sentence.
Mokhtari urged the 18-month term and said the aggravating factor was causing injuries to others.
U.S. Border Patrol agents saw four men get into Moreno’s minivan at two locations on Old Highway 80 on Feb. 19. An agent attempted to pull her over, but she began driving at a high rate of speed and they discontinued the chase due to public safety, according to court documents.
Her attorney, Jeremy Delicino, said she had no prior record.
Delicino said she agreed to smuggle aliens because of domestic violence and “toxic masculinity of her partner.” He said she was “victim of constant abuse.”
He said Moreno became depressed and attempted suicide “within weeks of this offense” due to being abused by her partner. She left him, but then she had financial worries and decided to smuggle the migrants to get some money, said her attorney.
“She’s aware it could have been worse,” said Delicino, who described the incident as a result of “a youthful indiscretion.”
Since Moreno is 24 years old, “she’s old enough to understand what she was doing,” countered the prosecutor.
Delicino said her depression and abuse shows “the lingering effects of that abuse” and puts it into “context.”
Wearing a tan prison uniform, Moreno apologized to the court and her loved ones for her actions.
The men who were in her van later told authorities they were going to a smuggling fee between $7,000 to $8,000. Moreno said she expected to be paid $500 for smuggling the men into the U.S.
Houston told Moreno after she finished her term, she would live in a halfway house up to 120 days. He ordered her to pay a $100 penalty assessment.
