Calls from two concerned citizens on Friday resulted in a Border Patrol aerostat operator spotting a group of nine people crossing into the country illegally near Rio Grande City.
Francisco Javier Gonzalez-Soto, a Mexican citizen born in 2002, made a first appearance in federal court Tuesday on charges of transporting people in the country illegally with a vehicle.
Authorities arrested him after the Rio Grande Tactical Operations Center received calls from two concerned citizens saying that a group of people were hiding in the brush near their community and that a silver Jeep Liberty was circling the neighborhood, according to a criminal complaint.
That information was relayed to Border Patrol field agents and to an aerostat operator who then spotted the group hiding in a brush area, as well as spotting the silver Jeep.
“Agents began to follow the Jeep and observed it turn into an empty lot. The driver and front passenger then fled from the vehicle and were apprehended shortly thereafter with the assistance of the aerostat and additional air assets,” the complaint stated.
Border Patrol determined that the driver, Gonzalez, and his nine passengers were all in the country illegally, the agency said.
In an interview after his arrest, agents said Gonzalez told him his family made smuggling arrangements on his behalf for a total of $5,000 and paid $2,500 up front.
He claimed that a smuggler offered to waive the remaining fee if he agreed to drive a vehicle loaded with people in the country illegally, according to the complaint.
“Gonzalez further claimed he was given instructions as to where the vehicle would be located for him to use,” the complaint stated.
Two material witnesses in the case identified Gonzalez through a photo lineup as the driver of the vehicle.
He is being temporarily held without bond pending detention and probable cause hearings that are scheduled for Friday afternoon, court records indicate.
