Tucson woman sentenced to 5 years in prison for smuggling undocumented migrants for profit

PHOENIX — A federal judge sentenced a Tucson woman to 5 years in prison last week for smuggling undocumented migrants for profit, authorities said.

Mariana Garcia-Tapia, 32, pleaded guilty on July 10 to conspiring to transport four undocumented migrants into the U.S. and putting their lives in danger, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

The incident she pled guilty for took place on Feb. 2 near Naco, an unincorporated area right on the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona.

Border Patrol found suspects smuggling undocumented migrants near border

Garcia-Tapia and her co-conspirator, Sharnesia Latrice Cooley, were caught after a U.S. Border Patrol camera operator spotted four noncitizens entering a 2011 Volkswagen Routan.

However, when agents later stopped the car, they only found Cooley, who was driving the car, as well as Garcia-Tapia and Cooley’s 2-year-old son.

The migrants were later found injured on the road near the San Pedro Bridge, which is east of Sierra Vista on SR 90.

Their injuries gave investigators the impression the migrants had jumped out of a moving vehicle, prosecutors said.

The migrants were brought to a hospital. Medical staff said they had several injuries including serious head trauma.

While the four victims were in the hospital, authorities determined they were in the U.S. without authorization.

One of the migrants said they had made a deal to pay to be smuggled illegally into the U.S.

What happened to the other woman involved in smuggling undocumented migrants?

The driver of the car in the attempted migrant smuggling scheme will face sentencing on Jan. 16, 2025.

Cooley will face the same judge who sentenced Garcia-Tapia: U.S. District Judge Scott Rash.