A human smuggling chase in Laredo ended with the arrest of Melvin Toraya, a man with prior smuggling charges, after he attempted to evade Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers on March 6. The incident unfolded when a DPS Trooper attempted to stop a Lincoln SUV suspected of transporting undocumented migrants.
Toraya, the driver of the SUV, fled through several streets before reaching a dead-end on Aquero Blvd. Once the vehicle came to a stop, Toraya and four undocumented migrants fled on foot. The SUV, left in motion, rolled over after it went downhill at the dead-end.
Assisted by U.S. Border Patrol air support, DPS officers apprehended Toraya and one of the migrants. However, three others managed to escape by swimming back into Mexico. Toraya, who had been previously arrested as a juvenile for human smuggling and evading arrest, now faces charges for human smuggling and evading arrest. He was taken to the Webb County Jail following the incident.
