SAN DIEGO -- A man was charged in federal court Tuesday in connection with the deaths of three Chinese migrants, including a mother and her 15-year-old son, who were found dead in the trunk of a car.
Prosecutors said Neil Edwin Valera, a U.S. citizen who resides in Tijuana, smuggled the three migrants in his BMW and left them in the trunk of the car two days after he crossed into the United States through the San Ysidro Port of Entry in the same car.
Valera, a truck driver from El Paso, Texas, was taken into custody at the downtown bus station on Saturday.
He was charged via complaint with Encouraging Aliens to Enter Resulting in Death and Bringing in Aliens without Presentation for Financial Gain.
