A Mexican man was sentenced in federal court Tuesday to five years in prison for leading sheriff’s deputies and police officers on a chase that caused an officer to fatally shoot a man.
Ramon Emilio Gil-Galindo, 27, pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death before U.S. District Court Judge Earl Carroll, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The death occurred shortly after a Pinal County Sheriff’s deputy stopped Gil-Galindo for speeding on May 10, 2006. Gil-Galindo, who was transporting eight undocumented travelers in a stolen pickup truck, sped away as the deputy approached the vehicle, prosecutors said.
A chase ensued. Eventually a Coolidge police officer threw stop sticks, then shot at the truck several times when Gil-Galindo tried to run him down. One bullet struck and killed Ramiro Aragon-Guerrero, who was sitting in the front seat, prosecutors said. The truck escaped at approximately 100 miles per hour, but was later recovered.
Authorities said Gil-Galindo was in the country illegally and had been deported previously on October 27, 2005, through Nogales, Ariz.
After he’s released from prison, he’ll spend five years on probation.
