Indictment: Mule Fled DPS in Girlfriend's BMW Loaded With Undocumented Immigrants

BIG SPRING, TX – On December 8, 2019, DPS Troopers engaged in a high-speed pursuit that culminated in the arrest of Edward Gonzalez Jr. Gonzalez. He was charged with Transportation of Illegal Aliens for Commercial Advantage or Private Financial Gain after he attempted to take five undocumented immigrants from El Paso to Tulsa, Oklahoma in a 2017 BMW X3.

According to court documents, Gonzalez was offered $4,500 to transport the five individuals across Texas and Oklahoma to Tulsa. Gonzalez told authorities he received a call from a man named “Aleks” and was told to pick up an envelope with $500 on the corner of Alameda near the McDonalds in El Paso and was then instructed to pick up the “pollos.” Pollos translates to “chicks” in Spanish, but it is a well-known code-word for undocumented immigrants. Of the money in the envelope, $200 was given to the "female friend" who lent him the 2017 BMW X3 and the remaining amount would be for gas for the trip to Tulsa.

The journey for the undocumented immigrants began in Juarez where they paid anywhere from $1,500 – $5,000 to a known smuggler in exchange for being brought across the border. They were then picked up at a McDonald’s in El Paso by Gonzalez and began their trip to Tulsa.

As the group traveled on I-20 around 6:20 a.m., DPS attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the driver of the BMW. When Gonzalez realized the officer had activated the emergency lights he sped up and attempted to flee from authorities. The suspect led authorities on a 45-minute chase until Gonzalez reached Big Spring.

According to Gonzalez, he put the BMW in “sports mode” as he attempted to out-run officers and took a random exit with his lights turned off. When he reached Big Spring, the suspect was again pursued by law enforcement until he came to a stop and attempted to flee on foot but was soon apprehended.

Based on the statement provided by one of the undocumented immigrants, Juan Pedro Garcia-Ramirez, the passengers in the vehicle were scared they would die when Gonzalez was driving at a high rate of speed fleeing from the police. They repeatedly asked Gonzalez to stop the car and let them get out if he wanted to keep running from authorities, but Gonzalez refused. 

Gonzalez was identified as a U.S. Citizen who lives in El Paso and was booked into the Howard County Jail. Four of the undocumented immigrants were Mexican nationals, and one was of Guatemalan descent.