Son of mariachi star is sentenced in immigrant smuggling case

SAN DIEGO —  The son of Mexican American mariachi singer Pepe Aguilar, charged in March with trying to smuggle four Chinese immigrants into the United States in his car trunk, was sentenced to time served Tuesday.

Jose Emiliano Aguilar, 24, spent 18 days in jail before being released on bond. U.S. District Judge Anthony Battaglia sentenced him to three years of probation, including the first six months under home detention in a sober-living facility.

Several friends and family attended the hearing to support Aguilar, including his father.

A U.S. citizen, Jose Aguilar was living in Mexico when he was presented an opportunity to make money by smuggling the immigrants, defense lawyer Jeremy Warren said.

Aguilar and a female passenger drove to the San Ysidro Port of Entry, and an officer’s dog reacted to the trunk of the Chrysler 200, according to the complaint. Four Chinese people were found inside. They admitted to paying between $3,000 and $60,000 to be smuggled, the complaint said. Two of them said they were headed to New York and the other two planned to go to Los Angeles.

Aguilar pleaded guilty to a count of bringing in an unauthorized immigrant.

Aguilar suffers from mental health issues and was using marijuana at the time to self-medicate, Warren said.

The lawyer said the sentence was appropriate.

“Judge Battaglia did what was right, he looked past him being the son of a famous musician and saw a troubled kid who has done everything in the last five months to fix his life,” Warren said.

Pepe Aguilar, who lives in Los Angeles, has won four Grammy awards and four Latin Grammy awards.

kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

Davis writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune