Opinion ID: 2676152
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: May 5-6, 2012 Voyage

Text: Around 8:30 PM, on May 5, 2012, defendant Bowleg and Terico Pratt 1 together piloted a 22-foot long motorboat to a beach in the Bahamas. Thirteen aliens, nationals of different Latin American countries, waited on the beach for Bowleg and Pratt to transport them on the boat to the United States.2 1 Bowleg and Pratt were charged separately. As discussed further below, prior to Bowleg’s trial, Pratt pled guilty to one count of alien smuggling for financial gain. 2 The motorboat had no name or identification number on it. 2 Case: 12-15797 Date Filed: 05/28/2014 Page: 3 of 36 The thirteen aliens had each paid a Bahamian man, known as “Nino” or “Junior,” amounts ranging from $3,000 to $12,000 for Bowleg and Pratt to take them to the United States. 3 No alien had documentation authorizing entry into the United States. One of the passenger aliens was Richard Manuel EncarnacionPerez who was previously deported from the United States. Encarnacion-Perez had convictions for conspiracy to possess fifty kilograms of cocaine with intent to distribute and armed robbery. Once loaded with its passengers, the boat set off for the United States. Although fifteen total were on board, the boat’s maximum occupancy was eleven, and it had only eight life jackets. During the voyage towards the United States, Bowleg and Pratt took turns operating the boat, which traveled without using its lights. Bowleg and Pratt also took turns using a GPS-device to navigate the boat towards their destination— West Palm Beach, Florida— and binoculars to monitor and survey the waters for other boats. At one point during the voyage, the boat ran out of gas. Bowleg and Pratt started to refuel, using gas tanks stored on the boat. Once Bowleg and Pratt started 3 At trial, only four of the thirteen aliens testified about the cost of the voyage, and these aliens paid between $3,000 and $7,000 in cash. The undisputed facts in the presentence investigation report, however, showed that one alien agreed to pay as much as $16,000. 3 Case: 12-15797 Date Filed: 05/28/2014 Page: 4 of 36 refueling the boat, two other passengers on the boat assisted Bowleg and Pratt. The boat then continued on its way. Sometime later, while patrolling Florida’s borders by aircraft, an agent for U.S. Customs and Border Protection spotted the boat, piloted by Bowleg and Pratt, on the aircraft’s radar. The agent alerted the U.S. Coast Guard as to the boat’s location. In the early hours of May 6, 2012, the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted the boat ten nautical miles west of West Palm Beach, Florida. The occupants of the motorboat were taken into custody and transferred to a U.S. Coast Guard vessel for their safety because the motorboat was taking on water through a hole in the bilge area. An inventory of Bowleg’s and Pratt’s possessions revealed that they each possessed $1,000 of U.S. currency in $100 denominations.