Neighbors describe chaotic scene after more than 50 immigrants found in truck

A man in handcuffs is watched by a police officer as apparently undocumented immigrants sit on the ground Tuesday night, June 12, 2018 after being found in the back of an 18-wheel truck near loop 410 and Broadway. less A man in handcuffs is watched by a police officer as apparently undocumented immigrants sit on the ground Tuesday night, June 12, 2018 after being found in the back of an 18-wheel truck near loop 410 and ... more Photo: William Luther, San Antonio Express-News Photo: William Luther, San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 35 Caption Close Neighbors describe chaotic scene after more than 50 immigrants found in truck 1 / 35 Back to Gallery

Joe Rust Jr. was swimming with his family in his North Side pool Tuesday night when he heard people running along the alley behind his house, followed quickly by two police helicopters flying low.

Alarmed by the scene, he quickly ushered all of his relatives from the pool into his home.

The discovery of more than 50 undocumented immigrants in an air-conditioned tractor trailer parked in that alley transformed the normally quiet Leland Terrace subdivision into a scene of chaos.

People ran from the truck in an attempt to elude officers, jumping over fences and climbing on the roofs of houses, several breaking bones.

Squad cars prowled the neighborhood. Officers shone flashlights into residents’ darkened yards. Helicopters continued circling overhead for several hours.

“It was pretty scary and it went on for a while,” Rust said. “It was more than I’m accustomed to.”

It was the latest stark reminder that human smuggling continues to be a pervasive, highly organized enterprise even as the Trump administration tries to seal the border. The discovery of the undocumented men, women and minors from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Brazil came almost a year after 10 migrants died and many others were injured after being smuggled into Texas aboard a sweltering tractor trailer found parked outside a South Side Walmart.

In all, 54 people were apprehended in the latest incident, federal officials said at a news conference Wednesday. An affidavit filed by Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Robert Cardenas said 53 people were captured, along with the man accused of driving the truck.

Six people were hospitalized for minor injuries. Four of them had been released.

Federal officials identified the accused driver as Gerardo Javier Carreon, 36, of Laredo.

Carreon, a U.S. citizen, is expected to be charged in federal court with human smuggling, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Shane Folden said. Carreon remains in federal custody and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

One couple living in the neighborhood expressed skepticism that only 54 undocumented migrants were involved, noting the number appeared to be much larger. That couple — who identified themselves only as Julia and John and declined to give their last name — speculated that some of the migrants may have escaped.

Julia, a nurse, said that some of the people running away suffered broken limbs when they fell off of the roofs of homes or jumped wooden privacy fences. She said one man had broken his legs, so she kept him isolated and gave him water and Tylenol.

“We had some broken people and some bleeding people and we just took care of them as best as we could until EMS got here,” she said. “They were all very kind and very receptive. None of them were hostile. … Once they realized they weren’t going any further, they just stopped.”

Her husband said he saw a helicopter hovering low over their neighborhood as he arrived home Tuesday night.

“As I turned down the street, it was just World War III — chaos,” John said.

He said he walked by one shrub outside his home four times, not knowing there was a man hiding inside. The man jumped out of hiding when another neighbor aimed a pistol at the bush.

Authorities and neighbors still were finding people well into Wednesday, long after the tractor-trailer had been removed from the alley, the couple said. Julia and John said they continued to find remnants of the night before — discarded shoes, shirts and water bottles.

Another Leland Terrace resident, who asked that his name not be published because of safety and privacy concerns, said officers found a man hiding behind a thorny bougainvillea bush in his fenced back yard around 10 p.m. Tuesday.

“I think they had tracked this guy to our backyard,” the resident said. “He was hiding behind a bush up near the fence. … The guy looked scared, but he was unarmed. They were speaking in Spanish to him, but I didn’t hear him say anything back.”

Officers led the man to a squad car, he said.

The resident said he was unsettled enough to remove his infant daughter from her bedroom and to keep her in his and his wife’s bedroom.

“It’s unsettling to have people wandering around. … You never know — people do desperate things at desperate times,” he said.

The sweep was prolonged, Rust said.

“It was a little unnerving,” he said. “My wife didn’t sleep well at all.”

Local law enforcement officials alerted Homeland Security Investigations of the truck containing the migrants. It was not immediately known how the truck came to local officers’ attention.

When federal agents arrived, they found Carreon with the truck in an alley near Loop 410 and Broadway. The doors to the trailer were open, and the people inside were apprehended while running from the vehicle, the affidavit states.

Carreon was captured while running from the vehicle, that document shows.

Those who didn’t need to go to a hospital were taken to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations office in San Antonio. Folden said he couldn’t provide further details on their status Wednesday.

Folden declined to discuss the ages of the immigrants, though an affidavit released late Wednesday indicated the youngest of the group is 16.

Carreon admitted to federal agents that he was to be paid for the smuggling, according to a criminal complaint submitted by Cardenas, which was released by the U.S. District Court Western District of Texas.

Carreon told authorities he left Laredo for San Antonio early Tuesday to pick up the undocumented migrants. He said an “unknown driver” had parked the trailer near the H-E-B warehouses near Rittiman Road and left the vehicle there “because the driver did not want to deliver and unload” the migrants, the affidavit states.

Carreon then told the agents he parked his pickup, drove the trailer to the alley and used bolt cutters to break “the seal of the trailer” and opened the doors to get the people out. As the people began to climb out and saw police, they ran a short distance before being arrested, the affidavit states.

The sky was clear Tuesday night, but the heat index was 90 degrees when police and firefighters responded to the tractor-trailer. The detained migrants were hungry, so firefighters fed them pizza, Fire Chief Charles Hood said. The pizza was ordered and delivered by a local tow truck driver Armando Colunga, 34.

Just two months ago, Border Patrol agents reported an increase in migrants illegally crossing the border, and officials issued warnings about the dangerous conditions they face as the weather becomes increasingly hotter.

“Last night’s incident could have turned out much, much worse,” Folden said Wednesday. “These criminal organizations are comprised of extremely callous individuals who disregard human life and make large profits on treating humans as a commodity.”

Smugglers know people wanting to get into the United States illegally won’t contact law enforcement out of fear, Folden said. The only way to combat the crime is to hit smugglers financially, he said.

“If we want to make serious progress against organized alien smuggling in South Texas, we need to attack the criminal organizations and financial infrastructure that supports it,” said Folden. “At the end of the day, you can't put a price on human life.”

Public records shown Carreon was released from a Texas state jail in February 2016 after serving a two-year sentence for a drug possession conviction.

Information from the Texas Department of Public Safety shows Carreon was arrested in May 2013 by the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance, 1 gram to 4 grams, which is a third-degree felony.

He was convicted of a reduced state jail felony of possession of a controlled substance, less than 1 gram, in March 2014 and was sentenced to two years in a state jail.

Carreon also was arrested in Jim Hogg County in March 2005 on a charge of possession of marijuana, less than 2 ounces, which is a Class B misdemeanor. He was convicted and served 18 months probation, records show.

Jenny Hixon, director of education and outreach with RAICES, said they were called to the scene by police as part of an agreement between the organization and the city to inform the occupants of their rights and offer access to social workers.

“So that they know what they're facing now that they've been taken into custody,” Hixon said.

She said Homeland Security and Investigations agents were not allowing RAICES members to speak with the people as of Tuesday night.

“We need to respect the basic humanity of those folks and make sure they have access to information about their rights and that their rights are being respected at every stage,” she said.

Antonio Fernandez, CEO of Catholic Charities, said his organization also was there to follow up with any additional needs the people may have had.

Hixon and Fernandez applauded the work of police and firefighters in how they treated the men, women and teenagers found inside the trailer.

DHS and ICE Public Affairs Spokeswoman Nina Pruneda said those who were inside the tractor-trailer were being interviewed as material witnesses and that the investigation will continue.

CORRECTION: This article was been updated to correct who provided the pizza. The article had incorrectly identified the purchaser of the pizza because of incorrect information from the San Antonio Fire Department.

News Researcher Misty Harris and Staff Photographer William Luther contributed to this report. | Peggy O'Hare is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | pohare@express-news.net | @Peggy_OHare | Elizabeth Zavala is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | ezavala@express-news.net | @elizabeth2863