Murder charge pending against suspected immigrant smuggler

EAST OF SAN ISIDRO — A suspected coyote could face murder charges today, one day after he allegedly crashed a truck packed with illegal immigrants, killing one man as the group fled from U.S. Border Patrol agents.

Investigators from the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office believe the group is part of a large-scale human trafficking operation, Sheriff Lupe Treviño said.

Shortly after 4 a.m. Wednesday, the driver of the pickup truck got spooked at the sight of Border Patrol agents, the sheriff said. Pan-icking, the man drove the vehicle and his 16 illegal immigrant passengers into some brush near the intersection of Farm-to-Market roads 1017 and 681 in the tiny community of Puerto Rico, about 10 miles east of San Isidro.

A man standing in the truck’s bed suffered a fatal head wound during the crash, Treviño said.

The driver and several other passengers ran from the wreckage and disappeared into the brush. Border Patrol agents apprehended four suspects, including a 13-year-old boy who was clasping a bandaged arm when an ambulance carted him away from the scene late Wednesday morning.

The truck came to rest more than 20 feet from the road. Canned food, loaves of bread and bottled water littered the ground at the scene. Federal, state and local authorities combed the area in search of more suspects.

Evidence gathered at the scene led investigators to a nearby house, where they apprehended 13 illegal immigrants. Information obtained at the house led to the identification of the driver, Treviño said.

Authorities plan to make public the man’s identity after his expected arraignment todayon a charge of murder. The Hidalgo County district attorney’s office decided on the murder charge because “during the commission of a felony he took a life,” Treviño said.

Investigators have determined the wrecked truck was reported stolen from the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Weslaco late Tuesday night. Deputies plan to analyze surveillance video from the store to determine if the driver stole the truck or if someone else took it and gave it to him.

Law enforcement agencies across the Rio Grande Valley routinely contend with auto theft rings, which are believed to steal large trucks for smuggling illegal immigrants and drugs into the United States. Treviño said this incident fits that pattern.

When police encountered the pickup truck, the group appeared to be headed toward the home where the driver was later arrested. Deputies believe smugglers use that location as a stash house for human trafficking.

“I think we’re going to find out that there are a lot more loads of immigrants that have gone through there,” Treviño said. “I think we have run across and busted a very significant human trafficking operation.”

The sheriff’s office and agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement continue to investigate the incident. The driver may also face human trafficking charges in connection with the wreck.

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Sean Gaffney covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4434. Zack Quaintance covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4447.

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In a previous version of this story, investigators said that the dead man had been decapitated in the wreck. They later retracted that statement.