Gerardo Garcia Mejia, 29, was arrested on Tuesday, August 27, on seven 2andSerious crime on suspicion of human smuggling.
According to a police affidavit, Heber City Police stopped Garcia Mejia for speeding at approximately 3:45 a.m. Monday morning, August 26.
He reportedly told officers he was driving to work in Cheyenne and then to Washington and Oregon. But when officers spoke to Garcia Mejia’s seven passengers, they discovered they did not know each other and their statements did not match.
A police search using license plate readers revealed that the car had traveled from California to Nevada the previous day and then passed through Las Vegas and St. George before the driver was stopped in Heber.
Officers said they found fake social security cards and identity cards in the car.
Wasatch County court documents list an address in Los Angeles for the driver, but the seven passengers allegedly entered the United States without a permit and were transported from California to various states across the country.
The probable cause statement also states that a ledger was found in Garcia Mejia’s car that contained a list of the immigrants’ contact information, where he was transporting them and the prices he was charging.
Several passengers told officers they did not know how much the driver would charge for their rides and how they would pay. One man told officers it was cheaper than paying the cartels in Mexico.
Garcia Mejia is being held without bail in the Wasatch County Jail. The second-degree felony charge carries a fine of up to $10,000 and up to 15 years in prison.
The case came less than two weeks after Heber police arrested a New Mexico man on suspicion of human trafficking. As of August 28, no charges had been filed against him.
Heber City Police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
