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Two people have been charged after speeding away from the Falfurrias Border Patrol checkpoint with an unrestrained 3-year-old child in the back seat during a smuggling attempt.
Gerardo Alexis Lara, Terry David Rodriguez and an unnamed third male U.S. citizen were detained Thursday after they fled the Falfurrias checkpoint once they were suspected of smuggling people illegally present in the country, according to a criminal complaint.
The third man was not arrested and later was released.
At around 7:06 a.m., on Oct. 26, Lara drove a black Chevrolet Silverado to the U.S. Border Patrol Checkpoint near Falfurrias where an agent observed a 3-year-old child in an unrestrained seat next to the unnamed U.S. man.
The agent asked Lara to roll down the rear window all the way down and noticed that the child was crying and kicking their feet as they looked down.
“[The agent] looked down toward the floorboard and observed what appeared to be a human forehead with a black plastic bag covering the rest of the subject’s body,” the complaint said.
Believing Lara to be attempting to smuggle a human, the agent asked Lara to park the truck in the secondary inspection area in order to conduct an immigration inspection on all occupants.
“Lara drove slowly for approximately 20 yards before accelerating away from the checkpoint and onto Highway 281 northbound,” the complaint said.
Agents in the secondary inspection area began to pursue Lara until they were advised of the unrestrained child in the rear seat, which resulted in the agents terminating the pursuit.
However, the Silverado pulled over north of the Brooks County rest area on Highway 281 where agents managed to apprehend the three U.S. men.
The agents also found two men concealed in the rear floorboard area of the vehicle who were later determined to be from El Salvador and Guatemala.
The five men were taken into custody.
Lara, Rodriguez and the third male U.S. citizen requested counsel and didn’t provide a statement to law enforcement.
The man from Guatemala told police he had been picked up by Lara and Rodriguez at a Whataburger parking lot believed to have been in McAllen and was dropped off at a hotel with the toddler and the third U.S. man.
Lara and Rodriguez later arrived at the hotel with the man from El Salvador and stated they would be leaving at 5 a.m.
He added that he felt scared when he heard someone say “Go,” heard the tires screeching and felt the vehicle accelerate rapidly when Lara fled from the checkpoint.
Both he and the man from El Salvador were able to identify Lara and Rodriguez in a photo lineup.
Lara and Rodriguez appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Julie K. Hampton Monday morning in Corpus Christi federal court for their initial appearance where Lara was scheduled to return Nov. 2 for their detention hearing.
