Docs: Man facing smuggling charge was trying to pay off drug debt

WESLACO, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Documents revealed new details in the arrest of a man who took Border Patrol on a chase Monday in Weslaco.

Border Patrol agents, around 10 a.m. on Wednesday, observed a raft crossing the Rio Grande with several people aboard near Mercedes, according to the criminal complaint.

It was about 40 minutes later, agents say, that the people boarded a dark colored SUV and drove away. The agents followed the SUV to conduct a traffic stop, but the vehicle failed to yield.

Documents further stated that Texas DPS aided in the pursuit along with Hidalgo County Constables.

The SUV struck a DPS unit near FM 1015 and Expressway 83.

_{Photo provided in a criminal complaint obtained by ValleyCentral}

The chase ended in a shopping center west of Westgate Road. The driver, Cesar Rafael Leon, exited the SUV and was later apprehended by a Hidalgo County Constable.

Five people from the vehicle were taken into custody, who later admitted to being in the country illegally.

Records revealed Leon was previously convicted of alien smuggling in the Southern District of Texas and is currently serving a supervised term in that case.

Authorities spoke to Leon during his arrest. He said he agreed to pick up the people present in the country illegally because he was trying to pay off a debt that he owed for drugs with a person in Mexico.