Georgia Escapee Apprehended in Peñitas by Border Patrol

Monday, December 03, 2007

Peñitas, Tex. — Border Patrol agents assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Sector detained an individual wanted for escape from Troup County, Ga. The subject will be extradited to face charges.

The arrest occurred yesterday, when agents assigned to the McAllen Border Patrol Station responded to suspicious activity in Peñitas, Tex. Upon arriving, ground agents witnessed several subjects wade the Rio Grande River and board a maroon Pontiac Grand Am. Nearby agents executed a vehicle stop on the Grand Am and proceeded to question the occupants as to their citizenship. All occupants were found to be Mexican nationals illegally present in the United States. The subjects were then taken into custody and transported to the McAllen Border Patrol Station for further processing.

At the station, the subjects’ fingerprints were entered into the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) for a check of their criminal history. One occupant, later identified as Erick Diaz, a twenty-five year old Mexican citizen, came back with a warrant from Troup County for escape from a correctional institution. Diaz was serving a ten year prison sentence in Georgia when he escaped from custody in 2003.

Diaz will be turned over to the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Department pending extradition to Troup County, Ga.

The driver of the vehicle was charged with alien smuggling.