BROOKSVILLE, Fla. — A traffic stop in Hernando County led to the arrest of a man attempting to smuggle an illegal immigrant from Tennessee to Clearwater, Florida Highway Patrol reports.
On March 8, Trooper W. Kelly noticed a Toyota Camry failed to stay in its lane on Interstate 75 in Brooksville. Pacing the car, the trooper said the driver was going 72 mph in a 70-mph speed zone and conducted a traffic stop.
When Kelly asked the driver for their identification, the driver, 36-year-old Celedonio Mendoza Mendoza, handed over a Mexico-issued passport that presented no stamps for entry into the U.S., according to the arrest report. Through a quick overview of the car, Kelly noticed Mendoza Mendoza's phone on the dashboard presenting GPS directions, snacks and trash consistent with an extended road trip, as well as another passenger in the car.
The passenger handed the trooper a Mexico ID card from his wallet that also revealed a heap of U.S. cash, FHP says. He was identified as Roberto Vasquez Cruz.
Kelly asked the driver, Mendoza Mendoza, to step out of the car and speak with him and that's when he told the trooper he did not know Vasquez Cruz, but that the two of them were traveling from Atlanta to Clearwater for Vasquez Cruz to meet with his family.
During the conversation, FHP says Mendoza Mendoza also revealed to the trooper that he had been living in the U.S. illegally for 19 years. Vasquez Cruz would end up telling Kelly, he'd only been in the states for 10 months and illegally traveled from the U.S.-Mexico border to Tennessee before this trip to Clearwater.
Additional troopers were called to the scene and a further investigation ensued. Trooper Ortiz, who is a Spanish speaker, learned that the money in Vasquez Cruz's wallet was going to be used to pay Mendoza Mendoza and be sent back to family in Mexico. Vasquez Cruz told Ortiz he had plans to work at a restaurant kitchen in Tampa and would live with his brother when he arrived in the Tampa Bay area.
Sgt. Malloy and Trooper Kelly conducted a probable cause search of the Camry and, according to the report, found $1,200 in an envelope, a wallet with a list of names and numbers with some crossed off, and receipts from days prior in Virginia and Georgia.
A U.S. Border Patrol Agent confirmed that the both Mendoza Mendoza and Vasquez Cruz were in the U.S. illegally.
Mendoza Mendoza was placed under arrest and transported to the Hernando County Jail on a felony charge of smuggling. His bond is set at $10,000. Authorities have not released what consequences Vasquez Cruz will face.
