EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – An El Paso federal grand jury has indicted three men and a woman on charges stemming from the discovery of dozens of migrants in an alleged stash house last month in the unincorporated community of Canutillo, Texas.
Wednesday’s indictment accuses Isaac Moises Jacinto Martinez, Carlos Roman Rendon Solis, Julio Cesar Quiros and Socorro Natali Rodriguez of conspiracy and harboring illegal aliens. Jacinto faces additional charges of transportation of illegal aliens.
The charges stem from an investigation by the U.S. Border Patrol’s Anti-Smuggling Unit of a multi-family home suspected of being used as a migrant stash house by individuals allegedly working with a man with suspected ties to Mexican transnational criminal organizations.
Court documents show border agents approached the duplex in the 900 block of Vinton Avenue on Oct. 10, and talked to a woman who had just come out. Guadalupe Rodriguez Ceballos allegedly admitted to the agents she did not have authorization to be in the United States and gave her consent for them to enter one of the two units.
Inside, the agents came face to face with the three of the suspects, a minor and a fifth individual present in the country illegally. Court records show the agents heard knocking on the walls of the adjoining unit and went next door where suspect Quiros allegedly gave them permission to enter. Thirty-three undocumented foreign nationals were inside.
Border Patrol Chief Agent Jason Owens tweeted a photo of the “raid” and said the migrants were found in deplorable conditions. He said they were being processed for removal from the country.
In later interviews with investigators, Quiros allegedly stated he was hired to transport migrants from El Paso to the Canutillo stash house for $200 each, and that he would be paid an additional $500 to drive them to Albuquerque. He said he wasn’t expecting actual cash, as the money would be discounted from his $7,000 smuggling fee. He, too, is in the country illegally, records show.
Rendon and Jacinto also turned out to be undocumented migrants. They were arrested for their alleged role in caring for the home and the other migrants.
Rodriguez, a U.S. citizen also known as “La Natali,” told investigators she lived at the home but refused to answer questions, saying, “I’d rather be alive and go to jail than talk,” according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.
The minor in the home was her brother. Agents called his father and received consent to talk to him. Records show the boy allegedly told them a ledger found in his sister’s bedroom was hers and allowed investigators to search his cellphone.
A group chat led by a man known only as “Chucky” allegedly detailed instructions to other members regarding human smuggling activities. The chat allegedly revealed direct communication between Chucky and La Natali regarding human smuggling, according to the complaint.
The minor also allegedly told agents his sister was in charge of the care and custody of the migrants at the house, the complaint alleges.
Harboring illegal aliens for profit is a federal offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison and fines, according to the U.S. Criminal Code.
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