SAN DIEGO
Former Los Angeles police Officer Carlos Curiel Quezada, Jr., plead guilty in federal court today on charges that he attempted to smuggle a Mexican citizen into the U.S. in the spare tire well of his car at the Otay Mesa border crossing in March of 2015.
His girlfriend, Angelica Godinez, 31, plead guilty to lying on an application for court-appointed counsel.
Both are scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 26. The defendants are facing up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 fine.
According to court documents, Quezada, 34, drove his 2014 Nissan Juke, with Godinez as the front seat passenger, into the U.S. through the Otay Mesa Port of Entry on March 14, 2015, at about 6:30 p.m. They presented their U.S. passports and told a Customs and Border Protection Officer they had nothing to declare.
The officer decided to refer them aside for a more intensive inspection.
During the inspection, officers examined the car with the Z-Portal, a non-intrusive imaging device similar to an X-ray, and detected something unusual in the rear cargo area of the vehicle.
Antanasio Perez Avalos, a 26-year-old Mexican national, was found in a compartment in the spare-tire area.