SAN DIEGO (CNS) – A Riverside man who allegedly fled from Border Patrol brokers in Pine Valley in an RV occupied by undocumented immigrants made his preliminary court docket look Thursday on federal expenses.
Vicente Villegas, 20, is charged with high-speed flight from an immigration checkpoint for allegedly main brokers on a pursuit within the early morning hours of Dec. 12.
In line with the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace, Border Patrol brokers initially noticed about 40 individuals climb into the RV after it crossed the U.S.- Mexico border. Brokers later tried to cease the RV close to Previous Freeway 80 and Freeway 94, however Villegas allegedly sped off onto Interstate 8 at about 70 mph, the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace mentioned.
Although a spike strip was laid within the highway at a Pine Valley Border Patrol checkpoint to cease the RV, prosecutors say Villegas swerved round it. Brokers chased the RV for about two-and-a-half hours on Interstate 8, state Route 52 and Interstate 15 earlier than terminating the pursuit, the U,S, Legal professional’s Workplace mentioned.
The RV was later traced to Villegas, who purchased it for $13,000 from its earlier proprietor, whereas offering his California ID to the proprietor, prosecutors allege.
In line with court docket paperwork, Villegas was arrested two days after the pursuit in Riverside on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Brokers searched telephones seized from him throughout that arrest and found images and movies allegedly inserting him within the driver’s seat of the RV on the day of the pursuit.
“The actions taken by the driving force of the RV on this incident endangered not solely the lives of the migrants being smuggled, but additionally most people and our brokers,” mentioned San Diego Sector Border Patrol Chief Aaron M. Heitke.
