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EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A man who fled authorities in two states at speeds reaching over 100 miles per hour in a car loaded with migrants has pleaded guilty to federal charges in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Judas Alexis Figueroa on Wednesday admitted he transported for financial gain five unauthorized non-citizens from Douglas, Ariz., to a road leading to Interstate 10 west of Animas, N.M., according to documents filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico.
Border agents took Figueroa into custody on Feb. 23 after deploying a tire-deflation device on a black BMW along New Mexico State Road 80. Figueroa initially told investigators he ignored authorities because they had no reason to stop him.
Later, Figueroa said someone hired him to drive south of Bisbee, Ariz., to pick up migrants and drive them to Phoenix for money, court records show. Border agents say it’s not unusual for smugglers to skirt highway checkpoints in Southern Arizona by driving around side roads in Southwest New Mexico.
Details of the plea agreement were not immediately disclosed. A federal magistrate was to review the agreement this week in a federal courtroom in Las Cruces.
