McALLEN — A woman who filed a police report inadvertently implicated herself in a drug smuggling conspiracy, records show.
Emily Julieta Gonzalez faces a federal drug smuggling charge related to a March 18 carjacking in Hidalgo. She told police two men carjacked her, and the following day, Hidalgo police officers found 10.5 kilograms of cocaine concealed within her vehicle.
Police arrested Gonzalez March 19, and she made her initial federal court appearance Monday on a charge of possession of a controlled substance. She was back in court Wednesday for her detention hearing, court notes show.
According to the criminal complaint, Hidalgo Police contacted U.S. Homeland Security Investigations agents after Gonzalez reported the alleged carjacking.
“Officers with HPD received a report of a vehicle theft by force on the evening of March 18, 2020. The incident was suspected of being drug related,” the complaint stated.
Gonzalez told HPD officers she entered the U.S. at about 5:30 p.m. that day and she was subsequently carjacked while on Jackson Road. She reported the theft at about 6 p.m.
“HPD officers met with Gonzalez who reported two male subjects entered the SUV and forcibly removed her from the SUV,” the document stated.
Roughly around 6:30 p.m. officers discovered the abandoned SUV in Mission, Texas.
“The SUV was impounded and towed to the secure HPD impound facility,” the complaint stated.
Subsequently, Gonzalez gave officers consent to search the vehicle.
Gonzalez voluntarily returned to the HPD station to answer additional questions from officers.
“During the interview, Gonzalez stated she suspected she was transporting something illegal into the United States from Mexico prior to the theft of the SUV,” the document stated.
A search of the SUV at HPD’s facility led officers to discover 9 tape-wrapped packages that contained cocaine hidden inside the rear area of the SUV.
On Wednesday, the court denied Gonzalez a bond and remanded her into custody of the U.S. Marshals’ service, where she will remain until her pending trial, which has yet to be scheduled.
