KXO RADIO - Smuggling suspect has court date Friday

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Todays is : Wednesday, 20 August 2008

Written by George Gale
Thursday, 24 July 2008
(Alejandro Toribio Gama goes to court Friday)….Toribio Gama is the suspected driver of the Suburban that crashed last Friday. Six people died as a result of that crash, including a father, mother and 9-year-old son. The 12-year-old daughter in that family survived. The U.S. District Court appearance Friday is to determine if the suspected driver of the vehicle is a minor or an adult. At the time of his arrest Sunday in a motel near Brawley, Toribio Gama claimed to be a minor. His appointed attorney says he may be 15 or 16 years of age. If it is determined he is underage, it will then have to be determined if he would be tried as an adult. If convicted, the suspect could face the death penalty. The prosecution claims over 20 illegal migrants climbed into the 1997 Suburban on Interstate 8 near Andrade last Friday night. Reports are Westmorland police attempted to pull the vehicle over, but it sped away. The vehicle was later found, upside down, in the Westside Main Canal, near Andre Road. Six people were dead, three were hospitalized, three were detained as material witnesses, and several others fled. The suspect has entered a not guilty plea to a charge of illegal transportation of aliens.