Son of San Juan murder suspect facing federal charges

SAN JUAN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The son of a San Juan man who has been charged with murder is facing federal charges, records show.

Samuel Uvalle Jr. made an initial appearance in court Monday after being arrested by Border Patrol on a charge of harboring migrants at a residence in San Juan. His father, Samuel Uvalle Sr., was arraigned on a murder charge after human remains were found in rural Edinburg last week.

A criminal complaint states that on May 18, a Border Patrol agent was assisting the U.S. Marshals and Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office in conducting surveillance at a home linked to an investigation. The agent saw six people exit the residence and walk to a nearby restaurant, a criminal complaint stated.

The agent approached the group, who freely admitted to being in the country illegally.

"The subjects admitted to being held at the residence and claimed a young male armed with a longarm was at the residence," the complaint stated.

Deputies later saw Uvalle Jr. exit the home, and followed him to a second residence where he was questioned. There, Uvalle Jr. admitted to the agent that the group consisted of migrants, and he was taken into custody, the document details.

Border Patrol spoke with one of the migrants, who said his brother paid $15,000 for him to be smuggled across the Rio Grande in a raft with six others. After crossing, he claimed they were picked up and eventually taken to a house where a father and son were the caretakers of the home.

The man told agents the son had an AK-47 with him, and that at one point during their stay, he heard someone being beaten, the document stated.

"He claimed the son told them his father was wanted by law enforcement for a murder charge and told the group to leave the residence because 'everything is screwed,'" the complaint stated.

The man was shown a photo lineup, and identified Uvalle Jr. as the son.

Agents then spoke with another one of the migrants, who added that a man called "Cuz" was carrying a rifle and threatening to kill them "if they did anything stupid," the document alleges. "Cuz" was later identified as Uvalle Jr.

"[The migrant] claimed she feared for her life as the father and 'Cuz' had multiple firearms and were abusing drugs," the complaint stated.

Uvalle made his initial appearance in federal court on Monday morning.

ValleyCentral detailed Samuel Uvalle Sr.'s arrest in the following article.