Man is charged with transporting illegal immigrants

A Honduran man allegedly present in the United States without authorization has been charged in a Texarkana federal court with transporting illegal immigrants.

Gustavo Adolfo Pavon-Castro, 29, was stopped by an Arkansas State Police trooper on the morning of Aug. 9 in Hempstead County, near mile-marker 38 on Interstate 30, according to a federal criminal complaint filed in the Texarkana Division of the Western District of Arkansas.

Trooper Steve Roberts suspected Pavon-Castro and his nine passengers were illegally present in the United States and noted there was no luggage in the Toyota sport utility vehicle.

Pavon-Castro allegedly possessed only an expired Honduran driver’s license as identification and most of the passengers displayed foreign identification as well. The Toyota’s driver and occupants were detained and taken to a Homeland Security office in

Hope. Among the passengers were three juveniles. One of the minors interviewed told investigators his father made arrangements with a smuggler in Honduras to take the youth from Latin America to Pennsylvania in exchange for $8,000.

The juvenile allegedly told authorities he and his cousin were taken to Houston after leaving Mexico. At a Houston apartment complex, the minor and his cousin, also a juvenile, were directed to get into the Toyota SUV. A second juvenile removed from the Toyota told investigators his family paid $8,000 for him to be smuggled from Honduras to Virginia.

Pavon-Castro allegedly admitted he illegally entered the U.S. three years ago and had been living in Houston. Pavon-Castro allegedly claimed he expected to be paid $300 for driving the unauthorized immigrants from Houston to Mississippi.

Pavon-Castro is being held in the Miller County jail.

The criminal complaint charging him was unsealed Aug. 25 after he made an initial appearance before U.S. Magstrate Judge Barry Bryant. Through an interpreter, Pavon-Castro was advised of his rights and the charges against him. Bryant appointed Federal Public Defender Tiffany Fields to represent him and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Ross represented the government.

Pavon-Castro’s case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan Hickey.