Man arrested for smuggling people inside furniture

Border Patrol agents arrested a man at the Falfurrias checkpoint Tuesday after they found seven people hidden within furniture in a U-Haul, according to a criminal complaint.

Joshua Emerson was charged with bringing in and harboring people without proper documentation from Mexico and Honduras.

According to the complaint, Emerson arrived at the checkpoint at about 6 a.m. in a Ford Econoline. He claimed he was hauling furniture when a K-9 unit alerted its handler to the vehicle.

At the secondary inspection, agents found seven people from Mexico and Honduras hidden in the box compartment of the vehicle inside a washing machine, dryer and under furniture.

The complaint said Emerson, who declined to give a statement, had also been arrested Sept. 10, Sept. 19 and Oct. 8 in previously failed smuggling attempts. He was turned over to Brooks County for the Sept. 19 case, which is pending, but he was processed and released for the other two arrests.

One of the smuggled men inside a dresser with false drawers told agents he had been working in construction in Edinburg, but had decided to head to North Carolina for work.

Another woman was found stuffed inside a dryer.

“She stated she felt hot, uncomfortable and afraid because she could not breathe,” the complaint said.

She later identified Emerson in a photo lineup.

Emerson is scheduled to appear before Magistrate Judge Julie K. Hampton Thursday for his initial appearance.