Mother and daughter guilty of transporting illegal alien through South Texas

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A federal jury has convicted a Lubbock woman of transporting an illegal alien through South Texas, while her mother previously pleaded guilty to the same offense.

The jury deliberated for approximately two hours before returning the guilty verdict against Charisma Vidal, 22, following a two-day trial. Her mother, Darlene Vidal, 45, pleaded guilty prior to trial.

On June 30, Darlene Vidal drove a Dodge Caravan to the Falfurrias Border Patrol checkpoint with Charisma Vidal was the passenger.

At trial, the jury heard that during initial inspection, authorities noticed blankets covering the third-row seats and discovered an illegal alien concealed beneath them. Authorities determined he was a Mexican citizen without lawful immigration status in the United States.

Testimony revealed the women picked up the illegal alien from a house near McAllen earlier that day before stopping for gas and continuing toward the checkpoint. Before arriving, he hid beneath blankets in the back seat.

The defense attempted to convince the jury that Charisma Vidal believed her mother had picked up the illegal alien as part of her rideshare work and that she did not know he was unlawfully present in the United States.

However, the jury saw cellphone evidence indicating he had paid Darlene Vidal for the trip and heard that the mother and daughter had traveled from Lubbock, spent the night in their van, and remained in McAllen for less than a day. The jury rejected the defense and found Charisma Vidal guilty as charged.

U.S. District Judge David S. Morales presided over the trial and set sentencing for Jan. 20, 2027. At that time, the Charisma Vidal faces up to 10 years in federal prison as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine. She was permitted to remain on bond pending sentencing.

Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Young Min Burkett and Joseph Griffith prosecuted the case.