- Miguel Angel Chay Tiguila was found guilty of aggravated human smuggling on Feb. 11.
- Tiguila was stopped in June 2025; charges said seven passengers including three minors were found to be not legally in the U.S.
- Tiguila claimed necessity due to unrest in Los Angeles. He remains in custody pending sentencing.
MOAB — A Grand County jury found a man guilty of smuggling humans after he was pulled over for a large crack in his windshield.
Miguel Angel Chay Tiguila, 31, was found guilty of three counts of aggravated human smuggling, a first-degree felony, on Feb. 11. The jury reached its verdict after two days of testimony and four hours of deliberation.
On June 11, 2025, he was pulled over in Grand County for a traffic stop, and officers found seven passengers in the car, four adults and three minors ages 15 or 16, who were each not legally in the country, according to a press release from the Utah Attorney General's Office. It said investigators confirmed they were being transported "for a commercial purpose."
According to the office, each of the minors was not traveling with an adult family member. The charges for which he was found guilty are associated with each of the children.
Tiguila was also found with more than $1,200 in cash and two cellphones that were turned off. Tiguila reported that both of the phones were his, according to charging documents, and the passengers did not have any luggage.
Charges said he reported only six passengers in the vehicle and that he did not know their names, only knowing them from work. He also admitted he was in the U.S. illegally, charges said.
Tiguila said he was on his way to New York, but some passengers reported they were going to Denver or Colorado.
"The passengers all indicated that they would be working at their destination, but were told they would learn the type of work when they arrived. The majority of passengers stated that they believed Miguel would be paid by someone at their destination for transporting them," charges said.
Tiguila's attorneys asked the judge to allow them to provide news articles showing unrest in Los Angeles between June 6 and June 11, 2025. They said this supports their theory of "necessity and exigent circumstances," because the passengers fled Los Angeles "during the height of a military-enforced crackdown and massive civil unrest."
Four charges for human smuggling, a second-degree felony, were dismissed by prosecutors on Feb. 9, the day before the trial began.
Tiguila has not yet been sentenced, but he remains in custody. On March 17, attorneys will provide arguments on whether the three charges should be merged.
