California man pleads guilty to smuggling
dying immigrants in trunk
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[January 28, 2015]
By Marty Graham
SAN DIEGO, Ca. (Reuters) - A U.S. citizen
who was arrested entering the country from Mexico with two dying men in
the trunk of his car pleaded guilty on Tuesday to felony smuggling
charges in a federal California court.
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Nicholas George Zakov, 43, admitted that he acted with "extreme
disregard" for the lives of the two Mexican citizens he was being
paid to smuggle into the United States, court documents showed.
Zakov, who is from North Dakota but moved to the Los Angeles area,
has been in federal custody since Aug. 12, following his arrest at
the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found 28-year-old
Tarcisio Casas-Blanco and 20-year-old Jose Quiroz-Casas, both of
Guanajato, in the trunk of a 2012 Dodge Challenger. One had stopped
breathing and the other was near-death.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Jan/28/images/ads/current/edward_jones_sda_pollice.png) Zakov admitted he ignored cries for help from the men in the trunk
while he waited to pass customs at the port of entry, according to a
statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District
of California.
The statement says they were heard begging to be released from the
trunk because it was extremely hot. Cars at the port of entry often
wait more than an hour in line, according to government reports.
The men died from hyperthermia and asphyxiation, the statement said.
Zakov was to be paid $3,500 for bringing both men into the U.S.,
according to court documents. Both Casas-Blanco and Quiroz-Casas had
been caught in the United States illegally before and were
voluntarily returned to Mexico - a process where they waived
hearings that might have led to formal deportation.
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Zakov faces a minimum sentence of three years in prison or up to a
maximum of life, and a fine of up to $250,000 on two counts of
smuggling humans that result in death and two counts of smuggling
illegal aliens for financial gain. He is scheduled to be sentenced
on April 10.
(Editing by Curtis Skinner; Editing by Michael Perry)
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