Virginia Man Arrested for Human Trafficking

STERLING CITY, TX – A Virginia man was caught attempting to smuggle illegal immigrants on Saturday morning by a sheriff's deputy just outside of Tom Green County. 

According to the affidavit, on September 28, a deputy with the Sterling County Sheriff's Office was patrolling US Highway 87 when he spotted a black passenger car that had a license plate light out and pulled it over. 

The deputy approached the vehicle and announced his name followed by why he had pulled the vehicle over. When the driver responded with his name, Jason Weddle, 41, the deputy noticed 9 other individuals in the car. He then asked Weddle to step out of the vehicle. 

The deputy initially noticed that Weddle was nervous due to him sweating profusely. He asked who were the people in the car. Weddle claimed that he did not know who they were but he was getting paid to take them from Odessa to Eden. 

The deputy then asked the nine other passengers where they were going who told the deputy they were going to work in the tobacco fields. None of the nine passengers had legal status to be in the United States.

Later Weddle told the deputy that he was getting paid $​2000 ​for ​the ​delivery ​of ​the ​passengers ​to ​the destination ​and ​would ​be ​given ​$​6000 ​if ​he ​stayed ​the ​night ​after ​delivery ​of ​the ​persons​.

Weddle was then arrested and charged with trafficking of a person. He was booked into the Tom Green County Jail at 2:01 p.m and remains there in lieu of a $15,000 bond. 

The nine illegal aliens were released to the US Customs and Border Protection.