State employee sent to prison for smuggling attempt in work vehicle

RIO GRANDE CITY, Texas (ValleyCentral) — An employee with the 229th Judicial District Attorney's Office was sentenced to prison on a human smuggling charge.

Bernice Annette Garza, former Crime Victims Coordinator, was convicted of human smuggling and sentenced to 36 months in the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Garza was terminated from her role as Crime Victims Coordinator after she and two other co-conspirators reportedly attempted to smuggle migrants in a vehicle registered to the 229th Judicial District Attorney's Office in December 2022.

Garza and the two co-conspirators were arrested during a traffic stop in Victoria County.

A criminal complaint obtained by ValleyCentral states that the Victoria Sheriff's County Interdictors had previously received information that the work vehicle was making unauthorized work trips to the Houston area and was suspected of criminal activity.

Starr County District Attorney Gocha Allen Ramirez released a statement on Wednesday, saying Garza was also suspected of being involved with human smuggling due to her behavior.

Ramirez released a statement on Wednesday, saying that instead of assisting victims of crime, Garza used her position as Crime Victims Coordinator to exploit those people for profit.

Garza was previously arrested and indicted for illegally voting using a dead person's identity in 2016.

She was charged with voter impersonation, illegal voting, and providing false information on an application for an early voting ballot.

The 229th Judicial District Attorney's Office covers Starr County, Jim Hogg, and Duval counties.

Homeland Security Investigations assisted with the human smuggling case.