(CNN)The driver of a tractor-trailer found in Texas last summer packed with dozens of undocumented immigrants, 10 of whom died, was sentenced Friday to life without parole in a federal prison.
James Matthew Bradley Jr., 61, pleaded guilty in October to one count of conspiracy to transport aliens resulting in death and one count of transporting aliens resulting in death.
"Smuggling illegal aliens into this country disregards both our laws and their safety," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. "This tragic case is yet another reminder that Congress must end the incentives that encourage illegal immigration and alien smuggling in the first place."
On the morning of July 23, authorities found the tractor-trailer parked at a Walmart in San Antonio after a store employee called police for a welfare check. The employee became concerned after a man from the trailer asked for water, authorities said.
James Matthew Bradley Jr.
When police arrived, an officer found "multiple people standing and laying at and around the rear of the trailer," according to court documents.
Officials found eight bodies inside the tractor-trailer and 31 people suffering from various injuries. Two of the injured died at a hospital.
Bradley's co-defendant, Pedro Silva Segura, a 47-year-old undocumented immigrant living in Laredo, Texas, pleaded guilty in March to one count of transporting undocumented aliens resulting in death.
Silva, who faces a maximum penalty of life in prison, is scheduled to be sentenced June 29. Others were charged as material witnesses.
