Houston teens carjack driver to smuggle migrants

McALLEN, Texas ( Border Report ) — Two men have pleaded guilty to carjacking a man and using the vehicle to smuggle migrants into the country from South Texas, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Jesus Rodriguez, 19, and Christian Hardy, 18, both of Houston, admitted to stealing a car from a man at a gas station on May 19 in McAllen after the vehicle they were driving had mechanical problems and they needed to smuggle undocumented migrants, U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani said.

The victim tried to stop the theft “and jumped into the passenger side, pushed Hardy out of the vehicle and managed to move into the driver seat. However, Rodriguez then got into the passenger seat, pointed a firearm at the victim and said the vehicle was not worth his life,” Hamdani said in a statement.

“Hardy and Rodriguez then picked up two non-U.S. citizens from a stash house in McAllen,” he said.

At the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in Falfurrias, Texas, about 60 miles north, agents noticed Rodriguez and Hardy appeared “nervous” and were referred for secondary inspection. There, agents “found the two undocumented people hiding in the trunk of the vehicle,” Hamdani said.

Authorities also found a firearm on Rodriguez’s waistband and discovered the car had been stolen.

U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzalez Ramos is set to impose sentencing on Jan. 28. Each man faces up to 15 years in federal prison.

Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.

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