A man accused of transporting and harboring nearly 50 people inside a residence and a U-Haul truck in San Juan will remain jailed pending the resolution of his case.
Isaac Livan Martinez, a U.S. citizen born in 1998, appeared in federal court Tuesday afternoon for a detention hearing, court records show.
Martinez was arrested June 28 after surveillance was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, Border Patrol and the San Juan Police Department.
San Juan police conducted a traffic stop on an orange Jeep Compass for a traffic violation, which is where authorities encountered Martinez and another man who had warrants.
Border Patrol said in a criminal complaint that agents saw a large amount of food piled in the back seat of the Jeep’s cargo area and said that Martinez admitted that there were approximately 30 people in the country illegally inside his San Juan residence.
After getting consent to search, Border Patrol agents found 45 people inside the residence and inside a U-Haul truck parked in the backyard, according to the criminal complaint.
One of the people in the residence, a citizen of El Salvador, told Border Patrol that he was smuggled with 18 other people in the back of the U-Haul truck and that the migrants thought they were going to die, according to the complaint.
According to this person, after he crossed the Rio Grande with a group of 18, they were taken to an abandoned stash house that had no food or water and their phones were taken away before being placed into the U-Haul truck.
“The 18 (people) were placed in the back of the U-Haul Truck, which also contained furniture and were closed inside for approximately 2 hours as the U-Haul Truck traveled,” the criminal complaint stated. “(He) felt they were going to die because it was so hot in the back of the U-Haul and some of the (people) removed clothing to try and cool off.”
From there, he was taken to the stash house where they were told they could not turn on the lights, go outside, make any noise or open the door, Border Patrol said.
The complaint said the witness told investigators that the group was supposed to be dropped off in the brush and would walk approximately eight to 16 hours to circumvent a Border Patrol checkpoint.
Another material witness, a Honduran citizen, told investigators that they all slept on the floor with no mattresses or blankets and that they hardly ever had any food, according to the complaint.
Both witnesses identified Martinez as the person in charge of transporting everyone, Border Patrol said.
