By The American Tribune | Created at 2026-10-03 10:31:27 | Updated at 2026-10-03 11:11:50
56 minutes ago
A human smuggler who livestreamed a police chase with his speedometer showing 105 mph before causing a crash that killed a grandmother and her 7-year-old granddaughter has been sentenced to life in federal prison. Rassian Nateray Comer was transporting 11 illegal aliens when he fled Texas authorities. The collision killed four people and seriously injured nine others. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin responded by calling Comer a “monster” and a “scumbag.”
The Department of Homeland Security issued Mullin’s statement on October 1st, following the September 25th sentencing in San Angelo, Texas. Comer, a U.S. citizen from Louisiana, pleaded guilty to federal smuggling and firearm charges stemming from the March 2023 crash. Homeland Security Investigations handled the investigation with assistance from Texas law enforcement agencies.
The pursuit began on March 13th, 2023, when Comer fled a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper while carrying the illegal aliens. He traveled eastbound in the westbound lanes of Interstate 10 before running a red light in Ozona. His vehicle struck a red pickup carrying Maria Tambunga and her granddaughter, Emilia Brooke Tambunga. Both died at the scene, while two Mexican nationals riding in Comer’s vehicle died from injuries sustained in the collision.
According to the Justice Department’s sentencing announcement, Comer broadcast part of the pursuit on Facebook Live. The recording showed police lights in his rearview mirror and a speedometer reading 105 mph, with voices speaking Spanish in the background. Prosecutors also released screenshots from the livestream alongside photographs of the wrecked vehicles.
Comer admitted the trip was his fourth smuggling run for an organization operated by a relative. He used WhatsApp to coordinate pickup locations and collected the 11 passengers in Sheffield, Texas, that day. He acknowledged knowing they were unlawfully present in the United States. Investigators found a Springfield XD9 9mm handgun under his vehicle’s brake pedal, and Comer admitted possessing it and believing it was stolen.
On June 18th, 2026, Comer pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death and 11 counts of transportation of an illegal alien resulting in death. He also pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen firearm. U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix imposed life sentences on the 12 smuggling counts. The firearm conviction brought a concurrent 120-month sentence, and Comer was ordered to pay a $1,300 special assessment.
Watch KCBD’s report on the sentencing here:
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“This horrific tragedy is almost beyond words,” Mullin said in the DHS statement. “This monster was already trying to cause more chaos and destruction by smuggling illegal aliens into this country, then decided to lead police on a high-speed chase that claimed the lives of a grandmother and her granddaughter.” He continued: “Maria Tambunga and Emilia Brooke Tambunga should still be alive today, and they would be if it weren’t for this criminal who endangered so many lives just for profit.”
Mullin credited federal prosecutors for securing the sentence. “Thanks to our partners at the Department of Justice, this scumbag will spend the rest of his life behind bars, where he belongs.” He also addressed the victims’ relatives in his statement. “My thoughts and prayers are with the Tambunga family, who have suffered a loss that few of us can even imagine.”
The Tambunga family’s statement thanked the prosecutors and investigators who brought the case forward. It described losing Maria, known to her family as “Coke,” and Emilia as an unbearable loss, and expressed a commitment to pursuing changes in the law. The statement was signed by Emilio and Elisa Tambunga, along with Gin and Tim Jespersen. “Today is not about closure—because a loss of this magnitude does not simply close.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.
