U.S. Border Patrol stops smuggling attempt
U. S Border Patrol agents have arrested a man and a juvenile accused of smuggling a group of 12 undocumented immigrants across the Rio Grande.
Antonio Davila Garcia, a Mexican national, was arrested early Sunday morning near the levee by Impala Road in the Southmost area, court records show.
On Monday morning Davila went before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Morgan, who set his bond at $25,000 cash and remanded him to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
The arrest took place after Border Patrol camera operators alerted field agents to a group of 14 individuals crossing the river in an area near Veteran’s International Bridge, records show.
Agents responded to the area and caught up with the group north of the river levee a few yards from Impala Road, USBP said.
Once in custody, the agents interviewed the group and learned that Davila and an unnamed juvenile male were the leaders of the group, records show.
In a sworn statement, Davila told agents that his job was to guide the undocumented immigrants across the river and to a safe area. If successful he would be paid $400 by a person known only as "El Jimmy," USBP said.
