Alleged Boat Captain Charged In Smuggling Attempt Near IB That Killed 4

SAN DIEGO, CA — A man suspected of piloting a boat that capsized off Imperial Beach last week, leading to the deaths of at least four migrants aboard the vessel, was charged by San Diego federal prosecutors Monday.

The panga boat was believed to be carrying nine people when it capsized at around midnight Saturday.

Along with four confirmed deaths, five people were hospitalized. Officials have identified three of the deceased victims as Bartolo Baltazar Baltazar, Epifanio Molina Bravo, and Hector Lopez Lopez, while the fourth person is only identified as Jane Doe in court documents.

David Alfonso Barrera Nunes, 37, the alleged boat captain, is due in San Diego federal court on Friday for a detention hearing.

The criminal complaint filed against him cites passenger accounts that state the boat began experiencing engine trouble sometime during the journey. Though multiple passengers urged him to turn the vessel around and go back to Mexico, Barrera Nunes allegedly refused, though he later called someone to ask for "a closer drop location," the complaint states.

Prosecutors claim that after the boat capsized, Barrera Nunes was the second person to make it to shore and did not make "an attempt to rescue any of the passengers."

While nine people were recovered from the water, the complaint also describes a co-captain of the vessel, whose whereabouts are unknown.

— City News Service