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Border Patrol agents saved three people illegally present in the United States from a toolbox they were inside during a smuggling attempt last week.
One of the men inside the box was suffocating, according to the criminal complaint.
Salvador Guerrero Jr. was charged with knowingly and with reckless disregard attempting to transport people illegally present in the country Thursday.
At about 10:15 p.m. last Wednesday, a Border Patrol agent assigned to roving patrol duty south of the Falfurrias checkpoint observed a blue Chevrolet Silverado pulling over on the side of the road on U.S. Highway 281 with its emergency lights on.
The vehicle was only on the side of the road for a short period before getting back on the highway and continuing north at a high rate of speed, the complaint said.
The agent followed the vehicle until they saw the Silverado slow down and weave across the road which made the agent suspicious, resulting in a patrol stop.
Guerrero was asked why he had pulled over just south of FM 755 earlier and he stated that his truck was overheating so he was waiting for it to cool down.
The interview was then interrupted.
“As the Agent continued to talk to Guerrero, he heard a loud banging noise coming from the toolbox located in the bed of the truck,” the complaint said.
Guerrero was detained and had a frisk search conducted on his body which revealed a loaded pistol hidden in his waistline with a round in the chamber.
The agent asked if there was anyone in the toolbox but Guerrero said he didn’t know and that his truck had been “parked at the hotel.”
Once the toolbox was open, the agent observed numerous tools and a blue tarp but then noticed a “visual of one hand reaching out,” according to the complaint.
One of the men inside the toolbox stated in Spanish, “Esta hogando,” which means someone is suffocating.
“The subject at the bottom was full of sweat with his hands cramping up from the intense heat of the toolbox,” the complaint said.
An EMT on the scene treated the distressed man and determined he was experiencing severe cramping due to the other two men being placed on top of him for an extended period of time.
Guerrero told authorities that the three men approached him outside the Marriott in Weslaco and asked for a ride to Houston.
When he expressed his doubts regarding their immigration status, Guerrero said the three men offered to hide in the toolbox and he decided to transport them despite knowing they were illegally present in the country.
Guerrero’s story is allegedly corroborated by the man who experienced severe cramping inside the toolbox, stating that Guerrero was reluctant at first when he asked to transport him to Houston but eventually agreed, according to the complaint.
Another man from Reynosa also stated that he convinced Guerrero to transport him before he was placed inside the toolbox in which he also began having trouble breathing and feared for his life.
However, the third man, when asked for a timeline of events, told authorities that they were exchanged on the side of the road by another person and transferred to Guerrero.
“[He] stated that they were elated to finally be out of the toolbox since there was no other way out,” the complaint said.
Guerrero is scheduled to appear before U.S Magistrate Judge Jason B. Libby in Corpus Christi federal court for his preliminary examination hearing Tuesday morning.
