La Joya police have arrested and charged a 31-year-old Mission in connection to a June rollover that left three people illegally in the country dead.
On Saturday, the agency said on Facebook that with help from federal agencies and the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, officers arrested Ivan Rios and charged him with three counts of murder and three counts of smuggling of persons causing serious bodily injury or death.
Police, however, did not disclose the role Rios played in the crash that happened June 29 in a rural area on Abram Road between 8 Mile and 9 Mile roads. Police said 23-year-old Alexis Hernandez Pino ran from the city’s police chief and another officer who had previously seen a group of people load a suspicious green Ford Expedition on the shoulder of Allan Romo Street, according to an affidavit.
The crash killed 29-year-old Gabriel Salas Sifuentes and 31-year-old Jose Ismael Campos Rodriguez, both of Mexico, that same day, while 20-year-old Yenifer Merari Granillo Vasquez, of Honduras, died July 14.
Police arrested Hernandez, who was also injured in the crash, on July 13.
He was charged with three counts of murder; three counts of smuggling of persons causing serious bodily injury or death; two counts of evading arrest detention causing death; a count of evading arrest detention causing death; and a count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to jail records and prior police statements.
Hernandez remained jailed Monday at the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center on a total of $2.75 million in bonds, while Rios received a total of $3 million in bonds and also remained jailed.
