The raids were “pretty dramatic,” Sheriff Salazar said. During one of the raids, the suspects allegedly jumped rooftop to rooftop on houses before being arrested.
BEXAR COUNTY, Texas — Three suspects have been arrested after allegedly stealing vehicles and using them for human smuggling, Bexar County authorities said. One is still on the run.
At 4 a.m. Friday, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) executed a series of coordinated raids looking for four suspects as well as some stolen cars, according to Sheriff Javier Salazar. Those raids took place in the 100 block of Allenhurst Road, the 200 block of Mohawk Street and the 24000 block of Brownleaf Drive.
The raids were “pretty dramatic,” Salazar said. During one of the raids, he said, the suspects fled the scene, jumping rooftop to rooftop on houses before they were eventually arrested.
No injuries were reported.
Juan Diego Balderas Velez, 31, faces charges of theft of property, engaging in organized criminal activity and evading arrest on foot.
Erick Velasquez Ovalle, 19, faces charges of with theft of property, engaging in organized criminal activity and evading arrest on foot.
Edgar Gabriel Velasquez, 21, faces a sole charge of with evading arrest on foot.
BCSO is still looking for Pablo Aaron Velaquez Monsivais, 25, who is wanted for allegedly engaging in organized criminal activity and two counts of unauthorized use of motor vehicle. Salazar said he wasn’t at any of the residences raided Friday morning.
All four of the suspects are undocumented migrants, according to Salazar. Three of the four have a history of being deported previously. BCSO says Monsivais was previously deported on a BCSO case involving money laundering and human smuggling from last year.
They all also have ties to drug trafficking organizations, officials said.
The vehicles they allegedly stole were gutted and used in those human smuggling schemes, BCSO says. They allegedly targeted large trucks and SUVs, ripping off the backseats and anything else that doesn’t need to be there so they could cram bodies into the vehicles.
These vehicles are also called “cloned vehicles.” Sheriff Salazar gave an example of them stealing a black pickup truck, on which the suspects allegedly placed a stolen license plate of a different truck of the same make and model, but white in color. They would allegedly then paint the stolen black vehicle white and put the stolen license plate on the cloned vehicle.
Salazar said they’d “clone” vehicles so that when law enforcement runs a plate, they would be notified what kind of car it’s supposed to be and what color it’s supposed to be.
BCSO was able to recover two stolen vehicles Friday believed to have been used in human trafficking operations.
If you know anything about this case, you’re urged to call BCSO at 210-335-6000.