Edinburg man sent to prison for tampering with evidence

EDINBURG, Texas (ValleyCentral) — An Edinburg man was sentenced to federal prison for tampering with governmental evidence, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

Jose Manuel Gutierrez, 48, pleaded guilty to knowingly influencing an official proceeding.

"This human smuggler tried to get witnesses to lie,” Alamdar S. Hamdani U.S. Attorney with the Southern District of Texas said.

On April 11, 2022, authorities found 10 migrants hiding in a tractor Gutierrez was driving.

Two of the migrants identified Gutierrez as the driver who instructed them to get into the truck and covered them with blankets.

The same migrants later changed their report, saying they did not know Gutierrez and had no contact with him, a press release from Hamdani stated.

The investigation revealed the witnesses changed their statement because Gutierrez told them to do so, worried that something harmful would happen to them.

“My office is not going to stand by and let intimidation replace the truth. The seriousness of his threats to justice merit the sentence imposed today,” Hamdani said.

Gutierrez has been charged with obstruction of justice. U.S. District Judge Nel...