Californian Jose Manuel Perez, alias “Julio Rodriguez”, pleaded guilty Wednesday to wildlife trafficking and smuggling charges.
Authorities said that Perez arranged deals to smuggle in wildlife via social media from January 2016 to February 2022, with the help of alleged accomplices, including Perez’s sister and co-defendant Stephany Perez.
Most of the animals were reptiles, and of Mexican provenance, with some sourced from Hong Kong, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. On Feb. 25, Perez was apprehended with 60 reptiles on his person, contained in small bags. Three of the reptiles died in transit from Mexico.
The total of 1,700 animals included, among other species, Mexican box turtles, Yucatan box turtles, Mexican bearded lizards, and infant crocodiles.
None of the imported fauna were declared to U.S. custom officials, nor did Perez acquire the proper permits needed to import endangered species.
For the animals of Mexican origin, Perez’s accomplices are accused of picking up the merchandise at the airport in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, before driving them directly across the border to El Paso, Texas.
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Authorities allege that the accomplices were paid a fee, corresponding to the number of animals moved, the size of the package, and the risk incurred from border agents, as noted in the news release.
From El Paso, the animals were shipped to Perez’s home in Oxnard, California, where Perez prepared them for shipment across the U.S. Perez used the alias “Julio Rodriguez” to avoid detection in the scheme.
Authorities estimate the animals smuggled by Perez exceeded $739,000 in street value.
From February 2021 to February 2022, Perez crossed through the San Ysidro Port of Entry 36 times, including the time when he was caught in the act.
On May 16, Perez was released on bond. He proceeded to remove his ankle bracelet on June 5, one day before his court hearing, and then fled back south of the border to Tijuana.
“On June 16, Perez was apprehended in Mexico. Perez was returned to the United States on June 16 and has remained in custody since then,” the news release stated.
Perez faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each of his two counts of smuggling items into America, and a sentence of up to five years in federal prison for wildlife trafficking.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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