Texas crime victims liaison pleads guilty to human smuggling with county vehicle

A former employee with the Starr County District Attorney’s office pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport undocumented people on Friday, according to court records.

A 2015 Chevrolet Traverse with the emblem of the Starr County District Attorney’s Office in Texas. An employee of the office was fired after the car was used in a human smuggling scheme, authorities said. (Victoria County Sheriffs Office)

Garza was arrested in December 2022 after a traffic stop in Victoria County noted that the vehicle registered with the county was making "numerous unauthorized trips to the Houston area," the criminal complaint said.

Magali Rosa was the driver of the vehicle, according to police, while Garza and Charles were among the passengers in the vehicle.

Police say Rosa tried to argue that Garza was the Starr County district attorney during the stop, though she later confessed to making over 40 smuggling trips from Rio Grande City to Houston in the government vehicle.

Houston skyline (Reuters/Richard Carson)

FOX NEWS CREW WITNESSES DRAMATIC HUMAN SMUGGLING BUSTS BY TEXAS AUTHORITIES

"This investigation is an example of no one being above the law, and our office taking swift action in eliminating public corruption," the DA's office said in a statement after the arrests.

Garza was soon terminated from the DA’s office, while the four migrants who were in the vehicle at the time of the stop were turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol.

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Sentencing for Garza and Charles was set for Sept. 28, the reporting notes, while sentencing for Magali Rosa is set for June 27.

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