A teen driver accused of migrant smuggling who three months ago walked out of jail without having to post bail was arrested again after crashing into several cars while allegedly fleeing from Texas state troopers in West El Paso.
Magistrate Judge Ruben Nuñez appeared unpleased when Andre Maurice Marrujo, 18, went before him on Sunday, Oct. 6, on a video teleconference bond hearing from the El Paso County Jail in Downtown.
Nuñez had previously released the Las Cruces teenager from jail on a personal recognizance bond on July 25, the same day that the Texas Department of Public Safety had arrested him on a smuggling of persons charge.
With the PR bond, Marrujo only needed a signature and a promise to show up to court. The bond was set at $20,000, meaning he would have to pay that amount if it was revoked.
Teen smuggler suspect involved in multi-car crash in West El Paso
About 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4, Marrujo was allegedly transporting four undocumented migrants, including a 6-year-old boy, in a silver GMC Yukon when he crashed into five vehicles stopped at a traffic light on North Mesa Street at South Desert Boulevard, Texas DPS officials said.
The border smuggling attempt had been discovered about 4:10 p.m. when the U.S. Border Patrol alerted Texas state troopers that an SUV suspected of carrying migrants was crossing from New Mexico into El Paso's Upper Valley, Assistant District Attorney Ray Duke said at the bond hearing.
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The Mexico border with New Mexico in the Santa Teresa, Sunland Park area just west of El Paso is a busy migrant smuggling corridor. Texas DPS Operation Lone Star smuggler pursuits originating out of New Mexico have become an almost daily occurrence on El Paso's streets and highways.
A state trooper attempted to pull over the Yukon for a traffic violation near Doniphan Drive and North Mesa Street, but the SUV immediately fled, Texas DPS said in a statement.
A Texas DPS aircraft kept surveillance on the fleeing Yukon, which soon crashed into five vehicles stopped at a traffic light on North Mesa Street and South Desert Boulevard next to Interstate 10, DPS said.
Social media cellphone video shows state troopers and Border Patrol agents with guns drawn approaching the SUV after the crash on the busy street.
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Marrujo was allegedly transporting four undocumented migrants — two women, a man and a 6-year-old boy. All four were turned over to the Border Patrol, DPS said.
DPS stated that eight of the occupants of the five crashed cars received minor injuries, with one person taken to a hospital for treatment. The rest declined transportation to a hospital.
Defense attorney says $100,000 bond 'excessive'
Texas DPS special agents arrested Marrujo on charges of smuggling and evading arrest with a vehicle. Marrujo was booked into the El Paso County Jail on a total bond of $100,000.
During the bond hearing, public defense attorney Chris Sullivan said the bond amount was "excessive."
Duke, the prosecutor, countered that vehicle chases caused by smugglers running from law enforcement are dangerous and pointed out Marrujo's previous arrest in a smuggling case.
Though judges often show leniency to youthful defendants, Magistrate Judge Nuñez refused to lower the $100,000 bond after noting Marrujo had appeared before him in July. The judge also ordered revocation procedures for the teen's previous PR bond. Marrujo remains incarcerated at the El Paso County Jail.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Teen smuggler suspect in El Paso multi-car crash had past smuggling arrest months ago
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