United States v. Mark Salinas

*464 Two brothers pleaded guilty to conspiring to transport illegal aliens within the United States by means of a motor vehicle, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324 (a)(1). One of the aliens they transported died from a heart attack while fleeing law enforcement. The brothers now contest their sentences, claiming that the district court improperly applied an enhancement that is imposed when a death results from the illegal transportation of aliens. The brothers assert that the death was too tenuously connected to the defendants' conduct to justify the sentencing enhancement. We reject this argument…