More jail time in immigrant’s death

Kim Smith

Monday, April 15, 2002 | 9:57 a.m.

A 23-year-old Las Vegas man who is serving federal prison time for helping undocumented immigrants obtain false identification was sentenced to another 3 1/2 years Friday for causing the death of one of his customers, but it won't cause him to spend more time behind bars.

District Judge Lee Gates sentenced Julio Cesar Lopez-Trejo to 42 months after Lopez-Trejo pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. But Gates ordered the state prison sentence to be served at the same time as the 42-month federal prison sentence he received in February.

Before he was sentenced, Lopez-Trejo addressed Gates through a Spanish-speaking interpreter.

"I know my behavior in this country was not appropriate and I also want to say I am sorry for the dead," Lopez-Trejo said. "I am sorry for what I have done."

According to U.S. District Court documents, Lopez-Trejo worked for an organization that helped immigrants obtain Nevada identification through Oregon.

Oregon state law allows people to get Oregon identification if they are able to show they have an Oregon mailing address.

The organization would mail letters to illegal aliens at an Oregon drop box. Once the immigrants had their Oregon ID they would use it to get Nevada identifications, court documents show.

The organization's customers would be found through advertisements placed in Hispanic newspapers.

On May 16 Lopez-Trejo was driving a group of immigrants back from Oregon on U.S. 95. He lost control of his vehicle near Indian Springs, while driving more than 100 miles an hour. The vehicle rolled, killing Edgar Eduardo Guzman.