A federal judge is ordering a Kentucky trucker to spend the rest of his life in prison for the driver’s role in transporting dozens of undocumented immigrants who died in a horrific tractor-trailer ride from Laredo, Texas, to San Antonio.
James M. Bradley Jr., 61, received two life sentences without parole after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants for profit, resulting in death. The sentences will be served concurrently.
On July 23, 2017, the San Antonio Police Department was sent to a Walmart store off of Interstate 35 upon receiving a call about a tractor-trailer parked in the lot. Officers found nearly 40 undocumented individuals at the scene, including many lying in the trailer. Bradley was sitting in the cab, where officers found a Cobra CB 38 Derringer .38-caliber pistol.
Ten of the individuals died because of the conditions inside the trailer. Anywhere from 70 to 200 people were inside the trailer during the transport, testimony from some of the passengers reveals. The immigrants paid varying fees for the transport.
As part of a plea agreement, Bradley admitted he was transporting the trailer from Schaller, Iowa, to Brownsville, Texas. He denied knowing there were people in the trailer and said he discovered them only when he exited the vehicle to relieve himself. He said he attempted to administer aid to them. Law enforcement officers from SAPD reported they found eight deceased persons and 30-40 others, all undocumented. Bradley was taken into custody. Two more later died at area hospitals.
Bradley told authorities he was traveling from Laredo to San Antonio, after having the tractor-trailer washed and detailed at a truck stop near Laredo.
Bradley said he intended to take the trailer to Brownsville to deliver it to someone who had purchased it. He stopped at the Wal-Mart and heard banging and shaking in the trailer. He was surprised when “he was run over by ‘Spanish’ people and knocked to the ground,” according to the affidavit. He realized that at least one person was dead.
He said he knew the trailer refrigeration system did not work and that the four vent holes probably were clogged. He said he called his wife but did not call 911.
