Hearing waived for man charged in crash that killed illegal immigrants

TUCSON — A Mexican national accused of transporting illegal immigrants for profit resulting in death had his preliminary hearing waived Wednesday in federal court.

Francisco Javier Morquecho-Valdez, 19, is still being detained because he has no legal U.S. immigration status, and the dates for depositions from the material witnesses have been set for mid-May, a spokeswoman for the Office of the U.S. Attorney District of Arizona said.

Morquecho-Valdez was charged by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement following a Sunday morning single-vehicle crash eight miles east of Sierra Vista in which at least a half dozen illegal immigrants were injured, two illegal immigrants were killed, and the rest were taken into custody by the U.S. Border Patrol. All of the illegal immigrants were Mexicans, authorities said.

The 2001 Dodge pickup apparently driven by the defendant had been reported stolen out of Phoenix on April 7, which follows a trend of human trafficking involving stolen vehicles, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

Two people who were injured were taken to the Copper Queen Community Hospital in Bisbee, and four of the injured were flown to University Medical Center in Tucson.

All had been released from the hospitals as of Wednesday.

The Mexican Consulate in Douglas has not yet released the names of the two men killed, saying it is still attempting to notify the next of kin.

The men’s ages were 18 and 47.