By Claudia Grisales

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Published: 8:39 p.m. Friday, March 23, 2012

A North Texas man has been charged in a human smuggling case after four people were found hidden inside the 18-wheeler he was driving along Texas 130 late Wednesday, according to an arrest affidavit.

Maurice Baker, a 27-year-old DeSoto man, is facing a felony smuggling of persons charge with bail set at $10,000 after a traffic stop led to the discovery of four male Mexican citizens hidden in a compartment of the 18-wheeler he was driving, the affidavit said.

Baker was stopped shortly before 11 p.m. Wednesday in the 12600 block of Texas 130 near Pflugerville by a Travis County sheriff's deputy who noticed defective lighting on the 18-wheeler, the affidavit said. Baker said he was a long-haul driver coming from Laredo and headed for the Dallas area, the affidavit said.

But the officer said in the affidavit that Baker seemed unfamiliar with truck driving requirements and standards, and began "shaking visibly" upon further questioning. A sheriff's office dog led the deputy to a hidden compartment below the 18-wheeler's sleeper berth where the individuals were found hiding, the affidavit said.

The Mexican citizens told the deputy they paid $200 to cross the Rio Grande from Mexico to Laredo on different days, the affidavit said.

They were taken to a "stash" house by two men who took their cellphones and later to a commercial loading yard where they met Baker, the affidavit said. It said the men's families were supposed to pay $4,000 to someone who worked for Baker.

One Old Vet

Man charged in immigrant smuggling case