Mission police bust immigrant stash house after alleged sexual assault

MISSION - Police busted a stash house Tuesday after a Honduran woman said she was sexually assaulted there.

Officers raided the house -- at 2113 Sierra Court, near Mission Veterans Memorial High School on Mile 2 North and N. Mayberry Ave. -- about 11:25 a.m. Police had found the woman wandering along a nearby road in the wee hours earlier that morning.

Police pulled over to see if she was OK and she told them she had been sexually assaulted at the brick house, Mission police spokesman Lt. Martin Garza said.

The house likely sheltered illegal immigrants traveling north, he said. Five men were arrested on the property.

Two of the men arrested were Mexican nationals from Puebla state, Garza said. Police would not release the names of those arrested pending their arraignment hearing and didn't say when that hearing was set to take place.

The Honduran woman, who was taken to McAllen Medical Center for treatment, told officers she had gone to the house seeking a way to get to Houston.

Police then watched the area before spotting and arresting one man in a white, 17-passenger van reported stolen from the Houston area and two men in a Chrysler 300, allegedly used to transport the illegal immigrants.

Officers obtained a search warrant and entered the house, where they found two more men, Garza said.

Several shrines in the living room made up of candles, toys, candy and other food were arranged to curry favor with saints who might protect the house's occupants, he said.

"(The case) is still under investigation. We're certainly going to be working this case with ICE," Garza said, referring to U.S. news/" class="autolink">Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "And hopefully we can pick up a federal case with the assistance of ICE."

Neighbors said the house's occupants kept to themselves and didn't spark any suspicion they were doing anything illegal.

Patricia Tucker, 17, was walking home from summer classes at Veterans Memorial when she saw the commotion down the street.

"It's very scary," she said of the apparent stash house. "It's a pretty ordinary neighborhood. You don't expect much here."