La Pryor Man Convicted At Trial For Human Smuggling Related Offenses
Monday, October 21, 2024, 8:45 A.M. ET. 1 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
SAN ANTONIO, TX.- U.S.Attorney Jamie Esparza reported that following a trial on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, a Federal Jury for the Western District of Texas has found Joshua Lee Balderas, 33, of La Pryor, Texas, guilty on the charges of Conspiracy of Kidnapping; and two counts of Harboring Illegal Aliens Causing Serious Bodily Injury.
According to documents filed with the court and evidence presented at trial. Balderas and other co-conspirators transported and harbored a group of seven undocumented citizens in March 2022. Balderas initially transported the group from La Pryor, Texas, to San Antonio, Texas, where the group was held captive in hotel rooms and ransomed to their families for thousands of dollars each.
Victims Families Forced To Pay Thousands Of Dollars
One of the illegal alien victims’ family was forced to pay $7,000 to secure her release. Balderas and one of his co-conspirators at times brandished firearms inside the hotel rooms to ensure that the migrants would comply, and Balderas sexually assaulted one of the migrants.
   Following the jury’s finding Balderas guilty, a U.S. District Court Judge accepted the verdict, filed it with the court, and scheduled Balderas’s sentence for February 2025. At that time, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each of the harboring charges and up to life in federal prison on the kidnapping charge.
U.S. Attorney Esparza commended the investigative work of the Department of Homeland Security Investigations and the San Antonio Police Department for the investigation, arrest, and Wednesday’s conviction of Balderas.
