The Brief A 28-year-old Corpus Christi man was convicted after federal agents found eight undocumented migrants hidden behind hay bales in a cattle trailer. Prosecutors linked him to the trailer using Facebook Marketplace records tied to his wife's phone number and Border Patrol checkpoint footage. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine at his sentencing scheduled for Jan. 6, 2027.



A 28-year-old Corpus Christi man was convicted of transporting people who were in the country illegally after authorities found eight migrants hidden behind hay bales in a cattle trailer, according to federal prosecutors on Wednesday.

Border Patrol intercepts cattle trailer

What we know:

On July 2, Jose Manuel Gomez drove a white Ford F-250 hauling a cattle trailer to a Border Patrol checkpoint near Falfurrias, Texas. Authorities discovered the migrants after a K-9 alerted agents to the trailer.

Digital evidence links trailer to Gomez

Gomez testified that a friend asked him to move cattle and directed him to the trailer. He also said he did not know who owned it. According to prosecutors, investigators determined the trailer had been sold through Facebook Marketplace to a buyer using the same phone number as Gomez's wife. The seller testified that Gomez, his wife and their children arrived in a white F-250 to pick up the trailer in Melvin, Texas.

Border Patrol checkpoint cameras also captured the same truck hauling the trailer about a week before the smuggling incident and again on the day of the offense, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Following a two-day trial, a jury deliberated for about two hours before finding Gomez guilty.

Conviction and potential prison time

What's next:

U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzalez Ramos presided over the trial and scheduled Gomez's sentencing for Jan. 6, 2027. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.

The investigation was conducted by Border Patrol and the Brooks County Sheriff's Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zachary Bird and Ashley Martin are prosecuting the case.
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