U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei reports that a jury has found a 48-year-old man from Jonesboro, Arkansas, guilty of unlawfully transporting four illegal aliens. The conviction came after a jury deliberated for less than 30 minutes during a two-day trial.
On January 5, Noel Mercado drove his Ford F350 pickup truck to the Falfurrias Border Patrol crossing. A K-9 unit alerted authorities to the truck, triggering a thorough inspection.
An x-ray scan found two people hiding in customized wheel well compartments, as well as two more in the auxiliary gasoline tank beneath the truck’s bed. According to the press announcement, all four were illegal immigrants from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala who had no legal status in the United States.
Mercado said throughout the trial that he went in the Rio Grande Valley to exchange baseball cards and souvenirs and that he was unaware of the concealed individuals. The jury, however, did not trust his statement and found him guilty of two counts of alien smuggling.
“As the Department cracks down on human smuggling and illegal immigration, we can expect smugglers to get more desperate, and thus more creative,” said Ganjei. “I would like to thank the jury for their service.”
The trial was presided over by United States District Judge David S. Morales, who scheduled the sentencing for June 11. Mercado may face up to five years in federal prison for each count, plus a $250,000 fine. Customs and Border Protection handled the investigation, and the case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys John Lamont and Ashley Pruitt.
