A Surprise resident was arrested last week for his role in March of recruiting a driver and coordinating the transportation of two undocumented immigrants, one of whom suffered fatal injuries after jumping out of the driver’s vehicle while it was moving.

Nathan Espinoza Jr., 22, was charged with one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens for profit. 

The complaint alleges that since at least March Espinoza has conspired with others to recruit drivers to transport undocumented immigrants, in exchange for which he received about $1,000 per person transported into the U.S.

The complaint further alleges Espinoza acted as a middleman for other smuggling coordinators and has coordinated numerous smuggling loads, including the March event that resulted in the death of one of the passengers.

This arrest is a result of the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha, established by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in June 2021 to coordinate the investigative and prosecutorial resources of the Department of Justice, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security. The task force's goal is to combat the rise in human smuggling and trafficking groups operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. This work was recently expanded to Panama and Colombia.

The task force focuses on disrupting and dismantling smuggling and trafficking networks that abuse, exploit, or endanger migrants, pose national security threats and are involved in organized crime.

Homeland Security Investigations is conducting the investigation in this case.

The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson, is handling the prosecution.