Ten illegal immigrants caught after van stopped (Morning Journal)

Ten illegal immigrants caught after van stopped

Published: Friday, September 10, 2010

By ADAM MAWSON
amawson@MorningJournal.com

MILAN — Four illegal immigrants ran from a van that was pulled over during a routine traffic stop on the Ohio Turnpike Wednesday, according to the U.S. Border Patrol. Six others were taken into custody as they stayed by the van. All the men, one from Guatemala, one from El Salvador and the rest from Mexico, were all in custody as of 5:30 a.m. yesterday, according to the Border Patrol.

Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Andy Patterson said agents from the Sandusky Bay Station in a marked border patrol vehicle on the Ohio Turnpike reported a minivan with California plates and 10 people inside driving suspiciously around 11:45 a.m. Wednesday. The agents said the people inside the van were visibly avoiding eye contact and slowing down to avoid the patrol vehicle.

“At one point, he (the driver of the van) was doing 35 mph on the Turnpike,” Patterson said. “Two and two just wasn’t adding up to four.”

As agents pulled over the minivan near US 250 the driver and three of the passengers fled from the vehicle, running south through a cornfield. Six of the passengers stayed with the van and were arrested by agents.

Border patrol called for their helicopter air unit as well as the Milan Highway Patrol Post and Erie and Huron counties sheriff deputies for assistance. One of the illegal immigrants was located in the cornfield with the use of the helicopter. In addition, 26 marijuana plants were found growing there.

Deputies investigated the plants, but did not find the person responsible for them, according to Erie County Sheriff’s Capt. Paul Sigsworth.

“It appeared they had been planted by a trespasser in this agricultural field,” he said.

The plants were removed by deputies and destroyed. Sigsworth said the street value was $1,000 per plant, or $26,000 in total.

Border Patrol Agent Corey Bammer said agents received numerous tips and 911 calls from citizens which helped them locate the suspects. Patterson said authorities received calls about some of the men trying to get into citizens’ cars or homes.

“I believe there was one lady that flagged officers down because one of the men tried to flag her down and get into her car,” Patterson said.

Sigsworth said deputies received a call around 9:03 p.m. Wednesday from an Erie County resident who met one of the immigrants at his home.

“A resident on Strecker Road reported a male came to his door asking for directions to Washington, D.C.,” Sigsworth said.

He added the man spoke very little English, but said he was very thirsty and had been hiding under a tree for several hours. The man was picked up by deputies and turned over to Border Patrol agents.

The driver of the minivan was apprehended in Norwalk around 5:30 a.m. yesterday while attempting to hitchhike. The driver had previously been arrested and deported by Border Patrol in 2008 while transporting eight illegal immigrants on the Ohio Turnpike, according to Patterson.

According to Patterson, agents will investigate each illegal immigrant to see if they have any charges against them. If not, they will be charged with being illegally present in the country and deported to their country of origin.

He added the driver may face additional charges through the US Attorney’s Office because he was transporting the other illegal immigrants.

In May, five illegal immigrants were arrested in a similar incident in Amherst.

“It’s kind of interesting because that’s what we see down south and it seems to be creeping up this way now in the norther border in general,” he said. “The Ohio Turnpike is a major thoroughfare for people traveling from the east to west coast area.”

The immigrants were apparently headed to New York, according to Patterson.