Two arrested in human smuggling attempt at checkpoint; passengers hidden in cooler, toolbox

Two United States citizens were arrested for their roles in a human smuggling event that resulted in Border Patrol agents finding four people “sweating profusely,” one of which was inside a toolbox that was wired shut, according to a criminal complaint.

Kansas resident Jason Patterson and previously convicted Esmeralda Cerda were arrested last week for their roles in the smuggling event where one person being smuggled stated he struggled to breathe inside a hot cooler that he couldn’t open.

At about 12:45 p.m. June 29, a white Dodge Ram pickup truck driven by Patterson arrived at the Falfurrias United States Border Patrol checkpoint for an immigration inspection, where he told agents he was heading to San Antonio for work.

When a Border Patrol agent asked to inspect the toolbox in the bed of the truck, Patterson told him it was wired shut and began to lean the majority of his body out of the driver side window.

“As the inspection continued, Patterson repeatedly looked between the primary agent, canine and canine handler and the road in front of him,” the complaint said. “The canine handler indicated to the agent on primary to place the vehicle in secondary because his canine was alerting to the vehicle.”

Patterson appeared to be distracted as he almost hit another vehicle on his way to the secondary inspection area.

Once there, agents discovered four people hiding. One was concealed under the toolbox in the bed of the truck, one inside the toolbox which was wired shut, one inside a hollowed out cooler and the last one behind the driver’s seat inside the cab of the Ram.

The four people were determined to be from either Mexico and Honduras.

As this was happening, a black Chevrolet Camaro registered to Cerda was spotted traveling southbound and was previously identified by Border Patrol to be a possible scout vehicle.

According to the complaint, Cerda had been previously convicted of smuggling people illegally present in the country, served 300 days in jail and is currently on probation.

The complaint goes on to state that Cerda has been identified as a scout for at least 38 different smuggling events since September of last year.

The Camaro which Cerda was driving had crossed the checkpoint 14 minutes prior to Patterson’s arrest.

“Believing Cerda was likely associated with Patterson’s event, USBP located and conducted a traffic stop on Cerda to identify the driver of the suspected scout vehicle,” the complaint said.

During a field interview, Cerda admitted that she was in the area to scout for a smuggling event and that she was on probation. She was then asked to return to the checkpoint of her own volition to speak to investigators regarding this case.

Patterson admitted to Homeland Security Investigations Corpus Christi that he was down on his luck and was offered $2000 a week to drive for construction in Texas. A bus ticket to Houston was purchased for him and he arrived in Texas on May 27.

He was then transported from Houston to Alamo by Cerda where he stayed for a couple of days before attempting to smuggle the people he was found with.

One of those people told authorities that “he voiced his concern of suffocating as they forced him in an ice chest, but he was told he” didn’t have a choice.

He added that, after almost two hours, he began to fear for his life because he struggled to breathe and his attempts of opening the cooler’s lid were futile, so he began to take short, shallow breaths to try and make it through.

The complaint notes that the temperature was 95 degrees Fahrenheit in Falfurrias that same day, which could have created life threatening heat conditions within an uncooled ice chest.

Patterson was scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mitchel Neurock on Monday morning while Cerda is set to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Julie K. Hampton on Wednesday morning for preliminary examination and detention hearings.

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