Captain sentenced to more than 14 years for Haitian smuggling trip that killed at least 9

Captain sentenced for smuggling trip that killed 9

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The captain of an overcrowded Haitian boat that capsized in 2009, killing at least nine people, has been sentenced to 14 years and four months in prison.

The Palm Beach Post reports that U.S. District Judge Kenneth Mara sentenced 40-year-old Jimmy Metellus on Friday. Metellus pleaded guilty in June to human smuggling.

Survivors of the May 2009 sinking testified they had been promised a safe and comfortable journey. The ship crammed with 25 people lost power and capsized off the South Florida coast. Nine bodies, including a toddler and a pregnant woman, were found.

Another person involved in the voyage, 33-year-old Jean Morange Nelson, was sentenced Thursday to 13 years in prison after pleading guilty to similar charges.