Police detain suspected coyote, illegal immigrants after traffic stop

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Bruce Haffner and Catherine Holland / azfamily.com


PHOENIX -- Phoenix police detained about a dozen suspected illegal immigrants after a burglary call led to a traffic stop Tuesday morning.
Suspected illegals detained

It all came to an end at about 6 a.m. in the area of 39th Avenue and Roosevelt Street.

According to police, it all started with a burglary call. An officer responded to the scene and while he did not find a burglary in progress, he did spot an SUV speeding through the neighborhood.

According to Sgt. Arnold Davis of the Phoenix Police Department, when the officer got behind the vehicle, the driver pulled into a driveway. Before the officer could get out of his car, 12 or 13 people, many of them not wearing shoes, bailed out of the SUV and ran.

Police rounded up those suspected illegal immigrants, one of them just 14 years old, and called in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

At least one person, who is believed to be a coyote, reportedly had a gun. That person, who initially claimed the group was a landscaping business, was allegedly charging $2,000 a head for a ride from Mexico City to Carson City, Nev.

ICE will be taking over the investigation.

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