César Rodriguez, LMTonline.com / Laredo Morning Times
Two women were arrested for transporting a juvenile who was in the country illegally, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
On Feb. 10, a trooper stopped a beige vehicle for operating with an expired license plate. The driver was identified as Kassandra Gomez, 29, DPS identified the passengers as Patricia Lizette Vela, 31, and a 16-year-old male.
Gomez seemed “extremely nervous” and avoided eye contact, authorities said. Gomez said she was traveling with her juvenile brother and her girlfriend. The juvenile had his head down and covered his face with a baseball cap. Asked if he was OK, he did not seem to understand the trooper. The juvenile kept eating chips nonstop as the trooper asked him for an identification.
Gomez stated that her brother had attended school and provided a social security card and date of birth for him. Further investigation revealed that the juvenile was 15 years old and that he was not Gomez’s brother. He was turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol for being in the country illegally.
“Once in custody, Gomez stated she knew of people committing the same violation (human smuggling) and being let go,” states the affidavit.
Gomez was arrested and charged with smuggling of a person younger than 18 years old. DPS said Vela was wanted out of Montgomery County for theft of property. She was served with that warrant and also charged with smuggling.