PRESIDIO, Texas — A pilot who crashed a plane with illegal aliens on it back in December of 2021 has entered to guilty plea agreement.
The plane crash occurred due to a combination of excess passenger weight and low fuel. The pilot, Tobias Peters, fled the scene and was later arrested on March 25, 2022 by the Presidio County Sheriff's Office. Peters was charged with three counts of smuggling, one count of evading arrest, and one count of deadly conduct.
In April of 2022, Peters official indictment had two charges on it. The first count being Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens, and the second count being Transportation of Illegal Aliens Causing Serious Bodily Injury.
Then, on February 2, 2023, Peters finally entered a guilty plea which led to him pleading guilty to the second count, Transportation of Illegal Aliens Causing Serious Bodily Injury. The U.S. Magistrate Judge also recommended that the District Court accept the plea agreement and the guilty plea of Tobias Peters.
The official sentencing date will be on April 25, 2023 in Alpine. Before agreeing to the plea deal, the defendant was aware that his punishment could lead to up to 20 years in prison, a fine not to exceed $250,000 and a maximum supervised release of three years.
The details of the plea agreement have not been released at this time. We will continue to update this story as we receive more information.