La Pryor Man Convicted of Three Counts for Human Smuggling-related Crimes

SAN ANTONIO - A federal jury convicted a La Pryor man for one count of conspiracy to kidnap and two counts related to harboring illegal aliens causing serious bodily injury and placing the life of a person in jeopardy.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Joshua Lee Balderas, 33, and other conspirators transported and harbored a group of seven undocumented noncitizens in March 2022. Balderas initially transported the group from La Pryor to San Antonio, where the group was held captive in hotel rooms and ransomed to their families for thousands of dollars each. One of the migrant victims' family members was forced to pay $7,000 for her release. Balderas and one of his co-conspirators frequently brandished guns in the hotel rooms to ensure compliance from the migrants, and Balderas sexually assaulted one of the migrants.

Balderas is scheduled to be sentenced in February 2025. He faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the harboring charges and up to life in prison for the kidnapping charge.

U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.

Homeland Security Investigations and the San Antonio Police Department investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amanda Brown and Adrian Rosales are prosecuting the case.

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