A trio of suspects including a man who was armed with a handgun and another who brandished a machete was indicted Tuesday on three counts of harboring people who entered the country illegally.
The investigation began in November when a woman called authorities after finding two people from El Salvador who were mistakenly dropped off at her mother-in-law’s home.
The two people stated they were held at a stash house in Peñitas where they were charged a ransom of $2,600 for their release.
This led to the arrests of Leticia Sosa-Medina, Giovanni Tellez and Francisco Javier Ayala-Reyes.
Federal authorities allege Sosa-Medina owned the residence while Tellez was the stash house caretaker.
The criminal complaint says Tellez used a machete to scare the people being held in the house, of which authorities say held 17 to 18 people staying in a bedroom toward the back of the home while Ayala-Reyes is accused of having a handgun as he was transporting the individuals.
They were arrested for the alleged transportation and harboring of people who entered the country illegally after special agents with Homeland Security Investigations initiated the investigation in early November.
In addition to the harboring charges, Sosa-Medina is also charged with having a Mossberg Model 185 variant, 20 gauge sawed-off shotgun with no serial number.
All three are currently being held without bond while they wait for the results of their case.
The suspects are scheduled to be arraigned on Dec.23, court records indicate.
