BROOKSVILLE, Fla (WFLA) — A man was arrested in Brooksville after Florida Highway Patrol said he was driving an undocumented man from Colorado to Plant City.
It’s the second human smuggling arrest made by FHP in Brooksville in the last two days.
FHP said they pulled over a white Nissan Pathfinder being driven by 29-year-old Vicente Temoxtle-Quiahua going southbound on I-75 because he was speeding and the windows were tinted too dark.
The trooper said Temoxtle-Quiahua did not have a drivers license, but did have a Mexican passport.
There was another man hiding under some luggage in the back of the car, later identified as 23-year-old Geronimo De Agua Garcia, according to a release. There was also a 15-year-old and a three-year-old in the vehicle.
Temoxtle-Quiahua told troopers he did not know Garcia, but was paid to pick him up in Greeley, Colorado and bring him to Plant City.
FHP also said Temoxtle-Quiahua told them he and the Garcia were in the U.S. illegally.
During a search of the car, troopers said they found a number of receipts from states between Colorado and Florida.
Temoxtle-Quiahua agreed to talk to law enforcement after he was arrested. They said he told them his cousin called him and asked him to drive to Colorado to pick up Garcia and bring him back to Florida for $1,500 plus gas money.
Law enforcement said Garcia confirmed everything Temoxtle-Quiahua them.
Records showed Garcia was previously deported in November of 2021.
Border Patrol took Garcia. Temoxtle-Quiahua was taken to the Hernando County Jail on human smuggling and driving without a license charges.
