Camp Verde Marshal’s Office deputies stopped a vehicle driving north bound on Interstate 17 around milepost 288 at approximately 11 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20, for an inoperable driver’s side headlight. The driver of the vehicle identified himself as Gustavo Mendez Cruz and presented a Mexican driver’s license. After deputies searched the vehicle and found 10people on board, they requested that Cruz provide their names and passports, but he did not respond.
On investigation, Cruz’s real name was determined to be Juan Carlos Perez Castro. Perez Castro reportedly admitted to being a human trafficker who had been moving people through the United States for approximately six months. He allegedly said that the 10 people in the vehicle were headed to Ohio, New Jersey and Colorado and that he had allegedly moved up to50 other people previously for a payment of $500apiece.Perez Castro was arrested and booked into the Yavapai County Detention Center on charges of human trafficking and Immigration and Customs Enforcement took custody of the 10 people allegedly brought into the country by Perez Castro.
Camp Verde Marshal’s Office Detective Sergeant Dustin Richardson provided comment, “The suspect in this case will go through the court process in the Yavapai County Superior Court. In this particular case, the role of the immigration officials were to take custody of the illegal immigrants from our possession. The immigration and customs enforcement officer that I spoke with told me that he is not allowed to provide information on current operational procedures. I cannot answer the question as to what happens to the 10 occupants once they are removed from our possession.”
