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Houston man sentenced to 35 years in prison in smuggling case tied to fatal crash

fox7austin.com · 3h · first reportShare

A Houston man was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison for his role in a human smuggling operation tied to a 2022 crash that killed two migrants and a U.S. citizen. 35 years for fatal human smuggling ring 26-year-old Roland Heith Martinez pleaded guilty in June 2025 to conspiracy to transport migrants, resulting in death. The sentence will be served consecutively to a 140-month sentence Martinez received in 2023 in the Southern District of Texas for drug trafficking charges. According to court documents, Martinez was an active member of the Guzman Transnational Criminal Organization from May 2021 until his arrest on unrelated drug charges in Houston on Jan. 25, 2023. Guzman criminal organization, cartel connections Prosecutors said the organization operates in Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Louisiana and Mexico and is connected to the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion. An organization accused of trafficking drugs and guns, as well as smuggling migrants into the United States. According