SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Five people were arrested after a capsized panga at Torrey Pines State Beach resulted in the deaths of at least three migrants, U.S. Department of Justice officials said on Tuesday.
The DOJ said the five detained were Mexican nationals. Julio Cesar Zuniga-Luna, 30, and Jesus Juan Rodriguez-Leyva, 36, were charged with Bringing in Aliens Resulting in Death and Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain, and Melissa Jenelle Cota, 33, Gustavo Lara, 32, and Sergio Rojas-Fregosa, 31 were charged with Transportation of Illegal Aliens.
Zuniga-Luna and Rodriguez-Leyva face a maximum penalty of death or life in prison and a $250,000 fine for the Bringing in Aliens Resulting in Death charge, per the DOJ.
Rojas-Fregoso was also identified as an undocumented immigrant who had previously been deported in December of 2023, officials said.
The boat was spotted early Monday morning near the 12000 block of North Torrey Pines Road, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office.
Law enforcement confirms three bodies were recovered, including a 14-year-old boy from India identified in court records as P.P.B. The boy’s 10-year-old sister is still missing at sea and presumed dead, while his father is in a coma and his mother is also hospitalized, officials said.
The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the second deceased person as 18-year-old Marcos Lozada-Juarez. The third body recovered has not been identified at this time pending notification of next of kin.
On Monday, local officials said witnesses and some of those rescued from the boat said as many as 18 people were on the vessel, including alleged smugglers. The DOJ said on Tuesday that eight of the nine suspected migrants had been accounted for, with the exception of the girl.
The DOJ described that after the boat capsized, a vehicle was seen by witnesses leaving the area.
Later that night, Border Patrol agents in Chula Vista found the vehicle and two others and conducted a stop.
“During the investigation, Border Patrol Agents identified two other vehicles that were involved in the smuggling event and were able to successfully stop and arrest the drivers of these load vehicles and locate eight of the nine migrants missing from the boat, with the exception of the 10-year-old sister of P.P.B.,” the United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of California said in the release.
The Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego on Tuesday released a statement, saying that they are “in close communication with local authorities to provide the necessary consular assistance to the victims and their families.”
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