Nearly two months after receiving information from a concerned citizen about a possible stash house in Rio Grande City, U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested an alleged caretaker after finding nearly 40 people there last Thursday.
(Read: Tip leads Border Patrol to San Juan stash house)
Orlando Javier Arevalo, a United States citizen born in 1978, was charged with harboring 38 people in the country illegally at a property he owns.
The criminal complaint said agents first received a report about Arevalo’s residence on April 17.
On Thursday, Border Patrol saw Arevalo sitting outside and went through an open gate to speak with the man, who admitted he owned the property, according to the complaint.
Agents said that while speaking with Arevalo they saw people inside one of the rooms and asked if they could walk around his property, to which he consented, the charging document stated.
“Agents further observed subjects running in the house and attempting to flee through a back door. Through an open window, Agents spoke to a subject who admitted to being illegally present in the United States,” the complaint stated.
Authorities said Arevalo then admitted he knew people illegally in the country were being harbored at his house.
In a statement, Arevalo told investigators he was paid approximately $900 a month to rent out rooms in his house to harbor people, according to the complaint, which said the 38 people had been inside his house for about a month.
“Arevalo admitted to providing the (people) with food, water, and freedom of movement to wash clothes, and cook food,” the complaint stated.
An El Salvador citizen found at the house told Border Patrol she paid $6,500 to be smuggled into the United States and crossed the river on a raft with 11 other people, according to Border Patrol.
“While at the house, she was instructed to cook for approximately forty (40) people. She said there was no air conditioning, and the temperature in the house would reach eighty-nine (89) degrees,” the complaint stated.
Another citizen of El Salvador told Border Patrol they paid $8,000 in smuggling fees and walked across the Rio Grande before being transported to the house.
“Once at the house, (she) indicated that a man took everyone’s phone. She stated that the man recorded everyone stating their name and passcode and told everyone the house was his. She claimed he assigned females that had been at the house the longest to cook and clean,” the complaint stated.
Both of the material witnesses picked Arevalo out of a photo lineup and identified him as the caretaker, according to Border Patrol.
Arevalo was scheduled to make a first appearance in federal court Monday.
