LUBBOCK, Texas — A U.S. Army soldier in uniform allegedly tried to smuggle illegal aliens into Texas, according to court records obtained by Breitbart Texas. Authorities claim the soldier attempted to drive across a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint with two illegal immigrants hiding in his vehicle.
The court records show Border Patrol agents working the immigration checkpoint in Sarita, Texas arrested Eric Rodriguez earlier this week.
Rodriguez was wearing his military uniform when he allegedly drove his Chevrolet pickup truck to the checkpoint. U.S. Border Patrol agents searched the vehicle. The agents allegedly found two illegal immigrants hiding in the floorboard just beside the front seat; they were using a bed sheet and Ramirez’s military jacket to cover themselves.
Once in custody, the illegal immigrants, Alejandro Maya-Gonzalez and Juan Inda-Isiordia, told an agent with Homeland Security Investigations that one of the men had paid $3,000 to be smuggled north and that Rodriguez was the driver of the vehicle.
Court records do not specify if Ramirez is an active duty soldier at a base or if he is one of the soldiers deployed by the National Guard to the border.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Ignacio Torteya set his bond at $5,000.
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