MCALLEN, TX - Authorities in Texas said that a woman and a teenager drowned during an alleged human smuggling attempt after the driver of their vehicle drove into a canal while fleeing from law enforcement.
According to ABC News, on Tuesday, April 1st, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that two men are not facing charges in connection to those deaths. The incident happened in the morning hours on Friday, March 28th, in McAllen, which saw a record breaking rain bring severe flooding.
The federal complaint states that U.S. Border Patrol agents were conducting surveillance and spotted a white Ford F-150 that had been "previously identified as being involved in alien smuggling." The complaint said that the agents surveilled the vehicle and saw a "body swap of suspected illegal aliens" with a black Ford Explorer. Agents then followed the Ford Explorer and approached the vehicle after it stopped at a low spot in a flooded road.
The driver of the Ford Explorer, identified by the DOJ as Jose Alexis Baeza-Combaluzier, a 26-year-old Mexican national, then fled and drove through the flooded area. Border Patrol agents found the vehicle approximately half a mile away in a nearby canal. The agents jumped into the canal and were able to rescue Baeza-Combaluzier. In doing so, they found four migrants, including an undocumented Guatemalan and her 13-year-old son.
The DOJ said that two other occupants of the vehicle drowned. The rescued mother's 14-year-old son was found in the recovered vehicle, and the body of another woman was recovered from the canal. The alleged driver of the Ford F-150 has been identified as 18-year-old Vincente Garcia Jr., of Roma, Texas. Garcia and Bazea-Combaluzier have both been charged in the smuggling deaths.
Baeza-Combaluzier was denied bail during his court appearance on Monday, March 31st and was scheduled to have a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, April 2nd. Garcia was expected to make his initial appearance on Wednesday. If convicted, both men face up to life in prison or the possibility of the death penalty.
In a separate incident, nine men have been arrested for human trafficking in Limestone County, Alabama. According to WHNT, a missing out-of-state child was rescued, leading to the arrest of nine men on 36 charges. The Limestone County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) said that on March 6th, Deputy Dylan Legg responded to a disturbance call and found a child who was reported missing in another state.
Seeing the signs of human trafficking, Legg rescued the child, who had reportedly fallen victim to sex trafficking after being lured online. The child, with the help of juvenile probation, Limestone County DHR, and out-of-state agencies, the child was safely returned to their family.
The investigation remains ongoing, with potential local charges pending. Additionally, LCSO said an out-of-state agency has issued warrants for. person suspected of taking the child. The following men were arrested and charged: 30-year-old Macario Mina, 40-year-old Robin Morneault, 53-year-old Stephen Carmac, 33-year-old Quan Zeng, 34-year-old Kevin Brooks, and 36-year-old Lavoris Mitchell.
Each of the above men are facing charges of first-degree human trafficking, electronic solicitation of a child, and traveling to meet a minor for an unlawful sex act. Additionally, the men listed below were arrested and are facing enhanced charges: 24-year-old Darris Moore II, 52-year-old Donald Devaney, and 28-year-old Raul Alvarez-Lopez. Each of those men have been charged with two counts of first-degree human trafficking, two counts of electronic solicitation of a child, and two counts of traveling to meet a minor for an unlawful act.
According to ABC News, on Tuesday, April 1st, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that two men are not facing charges in connection to those deaths. The incident happened in the morning hours on Friday, March 28th, in McAllen, which saw a record breaking rain bring severe flooding.
The federal complaint states that U.S. Border Patrol agents were conducting surveillance and spotted a white Ford F-150 that had been "previously identified as being involved in alien smuggling." The complaint said that the agents surveilled the vehicle and saw a "body swap of suspected illegal aliens" with a black Ford Explorer. Agents then followed the Ford Explorer and approached the vehicle after it stopped at a low spot in a flooded road.
The driver of the Ford Explorer, identified by the DOJ as Jose Alexis Baeza-Combaluzier, a 26-year-old Mexican national, then fled and drove through the flooded area. Border Patrol agents found the vehicle approximately half a mile away in a nearby canal. The agents jumped into the canal and were able to rescue Baeza-Combaluzier. In doing so, they found four migrants, including an undocumented Guatemalan and her 13-year-old son.
The DOJ said that two other occupants of the vehicle drowned. The rescued mother's 14-year-old son was found in the recovered vehicle, and the body of another woman was recovered from the canal. The alleged driver of the Ford F-150 has been identified as 18-year-old Vincente Garcia Jr., of Roma, Texas. Garcia and Bazea-Combaluzier have both been charged in the smuggling deaths.
Baeza-Combaluzier was denied bail during his court appearance on Monday, March 31st and was scheduled to have a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, April 2nd. Garcia was expected to make his initial appearance on Wednesday. If convicted, both men face up to life in prison or the possibility of the death penalty.
In a separate incident, nine men have been arrested for human trafficking in Limestone County, Alabama. According to WHNT, a missing out-of-state child was rescued, leading to the arrest of nine men on 36 charges. The Limestone County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) said that on March 6th, Deputy Dylan Legg responded to a disturbance call and found a child who was reported missing in another state.
Seeing the signs of human trafficking, Legg rescued the child, who had reportedly fallen victim to sex trafficking after being lured online. The child, with the help of juvenile probation, Limestone County DHR, and out-of-state agencies, the child was safely returned to their family.
The investigation remains ongoing, with potential local charges pending. Additionally, LCSO said an out-of-state agency has issued warrants for. person suspected of taking the child. The following men were arrested and charged: 30-year-old Macario Mina, 40-year-old Robin Morneault, 53-year-old Stephen Carmac, 33-year-old Quan Zeng, 34-year-old Kevin Brooks, and 36-year-old Lavoris Mitchell.
Each of the above men are facing charges of first-degree human trafficking, electronic solicitation of a child, and traveling to meet a minor for an unlawful sex act. Additionally, the men listed below were arrested and are facing enhanced charges: 24-year-old Darris Moore II, 52-year-old Donald Devaney, and 28-year-old Raul Alvarez-Lopez. Each of those men have been charged with two counts of first-degree human trafficking, two counts of electronic solicitation of a child, and two counts of traveling to meet a minor for an unlawful act.
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