Noel Mercado, a 48-year-old man from Jonesboro, Arkansas, was convicted of unlawfully transporting four undocumented immigrants following a two-day trial. The verdict came after less than 30 minutes of jury deliberation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.
The case stemmed from an incident on January 5 when Mercado arrived at the Falfurrias Border Patrol checkpoint driving a Ford F-350 pickup truck. Upon a K-9 alerting to the vehicle, authorities referred him for further inspection, leading to the discovery of two individuals concealed inside bolted compartments in the truck’s wheel wells. Additionally, two more were found hidden in the truck’s auxiliary fuel tank, a confined and dangerous space unsuitable for human occupancy.
The four individuals, who were undocumented immigrants from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala, were found without legal authorization to be in the U.S. At trial, Mercado testified that he was in the Rio Grande Valley to trade baseball cards and other collectibles and claimed to have no knowledge of the hidden immigrants. However, the jury rejected his defense, finding his testimony unconvincing and returning guilty verdicts on both charges of alien smuggling.
The conviction comes amid heightened efforts by the Department of Justice to crack down on human smuggling and illegal immigration. U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei emphasized that smugglers are becoming increasingly desperate and inventive in their methods.
Mercado’s sentencing is pending, and the case serves as a reminder of the risks involved in human smuggling and the continued vigilance at U.S. border checkpoints.
