Alleged smuggler had done it before

BY JEFFREY GAUTREAUX, SUN STAFF WRITER
Aug 9, 2006

The alleged driver of an alien-smuggling vehicle that crashed Monday killing nine people led law enforcement on a similar chase a little more than a year ago, but was convicted of only one misdemeanor.

Adan Pineda-Doval, 20, is in federal custody on a charge of felony transportation of illegal aliens in connection with the crash on Martinez Lake Road that led to the deaths of nine illegal aliens and injured 12. He was allegedly trying to elude U.S. Border Patrol agents when he swerved to avoid a spike strip and the vehicle rolled over.

This was not the first time Pineda-Doval has tried to escape from law enforcement while smuggling illegal aliens. According to court documents from the U.S. District Court in Yuma, he drove a truck from Yuma to Quartzsite on June 25, 2005, with Border Patrol agents and Arizona Department of Public Safety officers in pursuit.

"During the pursuit the defendant drove erratically, swerving toward DPS officers and Border Patrol agents, putting the lives of the agents and his passengers in danger," said the statement of factual basis included with the complaint.