5 charged in alleged smuggling operation after police find 97 undocumented people in Houston "stash house"
CBSN
Federal charges have been filed against five people for their alleged roles in a human smuggling operation in Houston, the Department of Justice announced on Monday. The charges stem from the Friday discovery of nearly 100 undocumented people in a single house.
Marina Garcia-Diaz, 22; Henry Licona-Larios, 31; Kevin Licona-Lopez, 25; Marco Baca-Perez, 30; and Marcelo Garcia-Palacios, 21, are all alleged to have "harbored, concealed and shielded illegal aliens for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain," the department said in a statement. None of the five are U.S. citizens and all are living in the country illegally, the department said. Houston Police on Friday discovered 97 "undocumented noncitizens" in a two-story home after receiving a 911 call. A woman reported her brother had been kidnapped, saying she had paid smugglers "several thousand dollars" to get her brother into the U.S., the Justice Department said. The smugglers allegedly demanded more money and threatened to kill the woman's brother.Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.