Teens often behind the wheel in high speed chases with Texas DPS

KTEP (El Paso, Texas) — A Texas state trooper on duty was pursuing a suspected migrant smuggler in east El Paso when he radioed a warning shortly after dawn.

On a summer day with light rain, the black and white Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) car chased a red Chevrolet Equinox. Behind the wheel was 19-year-old Milton Gonzalez. At a major junction, he came to a stop.

Twice the trooper yelled, “Let me see your hands!” as he exited car. Through a Texas Public Information Act request, KTEP News was able to receive the trooper’s dash camera footage that captured the situation.

View the complete video and other pursuit videos here.

The Equinox can then be seen driving away from the trooper in the footage. For at least 40 minutes, Gonzalez led the trooper on a chase, occasionally exceeding 100 miles per hour. In the Lower Valley of El Paso, they zigzagged along winding streets. Gonzalez swerved between vehicles on the border highway and drove in the wrong direction on a residential road, almost colliding with several vehicles.

Teenagers and young adults, who are frequently U.S. citizens, are involved in high-speed pursuits, which are especially common in border areas and are a tactic used by smugglers to evade the authorities. Residents are also at risk from the pursuits.

Both the occupants of the vehicles and onlookers have been hurt or killed in collisions.

According to a KTEP News study, DPS troopers started 258 chases between January 1 and September 22 of this year. In contrast, there were 296 chases over the same time frame the previous year. The number of pursuits that resulted in a crash increased little in comparison to the same period in 2023, even if the overall number decreased.

Individual troopers determine whether or when to pursue a driver suspected of carrying unauthorized immigrants, per DPS regulation.

When the trooper executed what is known as a PIT maneuver, striking the back of the vehicle, causing it to flip and roll twice, Gonzalez’s pursuit came to an end in a collision on the border highway. The Equinox appears to roll on top of the passenger’s legs as he flies out of a window in the footage.

“I don’t know what I was thinking,” Gonzalez said in an exclusive interview with KTEP News at the Rogelio Sanchez State Jail in East El Paso County, where he has pleaded guilty to many counts and is currently serving a five-year term. They included smuggling, which carries a risk of death or severe physical harm.

Milton Gonzalez, 22, is serving five year sentence at Rogelio Sanchez State Jail in East El Paso County after pleading guilty to several charges including smuggling with likelihood of serious bodily injury or death.

Teenagers and young adults are frequently the drivers in high-speed pursuits by state troopers pursuing suspected smugglers carrying undocumented migrants, according to KTEP News’ study of instances. The plan is a component of Operation Lone Star, a border enforcement campaign led by Governor Greg Abbott.

About 300 people were charged with human smuggling this year, according to Kelli Childress, El Paso County’s Chief Public Defender. “A lot of drivers are teenagers or young adults,” she remarked.

“And, you look at that person in the face and they’ve never been arrested before and you have to tell them by the way, if you’re convicted, you’re going to prison for a minimum of 10 years,” Childress continued. “If we want to address the problem of giving people rides who may be migrants, and the state of Texas really wants to put resources in addressing that, then start educating people.”

According to Oscar F. Hagelseib, a 25-year veteran of federal law enforcement and president of Hagelsieb Strategic Investigation, HSI, smuggling companies pay between $300 and $1000 per migrant, depending on the length of the voyage.

“Smugglers resort to recruiting teens and young adults because they are more susceptible to being influenced by easy money,” Hagelsieb said.

According to Hagelseib, federal officials utilized undercover social media profiles to identify the recruiters, so now they rely more on “word of mouth” than on social media as a recruiting strategy.

However, that’s not to suggest social media doesn’t have a significant impact on hiring. On social media, smugglers and recruiters display ostentatious vehicles, jewelry, and a lifestyle that many young people from low-income backgrounds aspire to,” he said.

Joseph Anthony Maldonado, 17, is one of the teenagers that DPS has been pursuing who has been involved in tragic collisions. His arraignment is set for today, and he faces murder charges.

On October 4, Maldonado allegedly had six migrants in his Dodge Charger when he ran a red light. Wendy Rodriguez, 42, was killed on her way to work when he hit a blue Toyota Corolla, almost tearing the roof off the small car.

In a another instance, Adrian Neeko Brustie, 19, and Juelissa Ceniceros, 20, were charged with two murders following their involvement in an accident on November 20, 2023, that resulted in the deaths of two migrants.

In the northwest corner of El Paso County, Brustie allegedly drove across the parking lot of a retail center while migrants leaped out of the moving car. Brustie allegedly led a fast-paced pursuit in the Lower Valley that reached speeds of up to 100 miles per hour and ended about 18 miles away.

Court filings state that Brustie lost control of his car and turned over after colliding with a curb and a yield sign.

El Paso County Commissioner Sergio Coronado represents the Northwest El Paso precinct, which is where the majority of pursuits and collisions occur close to the Texas-New Mexico state line.

Instead of pursuing drivers at high speeds, he said state troopers should use their resources and technology to trace them to their destination because “it might lead them to where the actual stash houses are or where other individuals are involved.”

Gonzalez, who is now 22 years old, admitted to smuggling charges but says he was unaware that the passengers in the car he was transporting were undocumented. He claims that he received offers of hundreds of dollars per passenger after being recruited on social media to provide rides. He refused to specify the precise amount.

He warns other young individuals hoping to make quick cash to “think twice” while incarcerated. Perform legal tasks.

This report was contributed to by Angela Kocherga, director of KTEP News.

Through a Texas Public Information Act request, the Texas Department of Public Safety released the available data, which is represented on this map. DPS troopers’ pursuits of alleged undocumented migrant traffickers between June 22, 2023, and September 22, 2024 are represented by the color-coded icons. Orange indicates a pursuit that resulted in a collision, green indicates the state policeman abandoned their pursuit, and blue icons typically depict pursuits. Data with corresponding longitude and latitude coordinates are shown by icons on the map. DPS data indicates that 257 chases were reported between January 1, 2024, and September 22, 2024. Additionally, 257 chases were reported between June 22, 2023, and December 29, 2023.

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