Talk about a disgrace to the uniform...
LAREDO, Texas - One of three National Guardsman accused of helping transport illegal immigrants pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal felony conspiracy charge.
Jose Rodrigo Torres, 26, admitted in U.S. District Court to conspiring with others to transport illegal immigrants.
Torres was one of three Guardsmen accused of helping
undocumented immigrants pass a checkpoint on Interstate 35. The other two Guardsmen, Sgt. Julio Cesar Pacheco and Sgt. Clarence Hodge Jr., have pleaded not guilty.
Torres admitted he drove through the checkpoint in a van leased by the Texas Army
National Guard with 24 undocumented immigrants on June 7. He was wearing his battle dress uniform and expected to be paid $3,000, prosecutors said.
Torres said that the day he was caught wasn't the first time he had taken immigrants through the checkpoint. He had conspired to transport more than 100 immigrants starting in May, the U.S. attorney's office said.
He identified Hodge and Pacheco to prosecutors, and Pacheco's sister and brother-in-law have since also been charged in the case.
Torres remains in custody and could face 10 years in federal prison and as much as $250,000 in fines after a pre-sentencing hearing, which has not been scheduled.