Customs and Border Protection arrested a “resident alien” near Laredo, who was wanted for rape, over Memorial Day weekend.
“CBP officers at Laredo Port of Entry encounter wanted persons on a regular basis and the apprehensions for alleged violent sexual crimes are among the most heinous we see,” said Tater Ortiz, port director of the Brownsville Port of Entry, in a press release.
Border officers at the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge near Laredo arrested 50-year-old Nestor Martinez Carrillo on May 24, according to the release. They found he was wanted in Stearns County, Minnesota, on a warrant for failure to appear on a rape charge.
Carrillo was a “bus passenger” at the border crossing, and CBP officers referred him for secondary inspection, according to the release. They used “biometric verification and federal law enforcement databases” to verify Carrillo’s identity. They discovered he was wanted on an “outstanding felony arrest warrant” issued by the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
The sheriff’s office first issued the arrest warrant on Aug. 19, 2020, citing “failure to appear” for a 3rd-degree criminal sex offense.
After CBP officers apprehended Carrillo, he was “transported to Webb County jail pending final adjudication of the warrant,” per the press release. Jail records indicate he was booked on May 24 and faces a charge of “sexual assault.” Criminal charges are “allegations,” and defendants are “presumed innocent unless proven guilty,” the release noted.
The National Crime Information Center is a “centralized automated database” that helps law enforcement share information about “outstanding warrants,” according to the release. CBP officials cited the same system after arresting a suspect May 26 who was wanted in Dallas County for soliciting minors online, as The Dallas Express reported at the time.
CBP officers arrested a suspect on May 21 who was wanted for rape in Illinois, as The Dallas Express reported. That day, Border Patrol agents also arrested a twice-deported sex offender, convicted of assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
“These types of apprehension perfectly exemplify CBP’s ongoing commitment to keeping our communities secure,” Ortiz said in the release.