Former Texas deputy constable pleads guilty to alien smuggling

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A former Cameron (Texas) County deputy constable pleaded guilty Thursday to transporting illegal aliens.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents investigated this case.

Luis Enrique Guevara, 44, of Brownsville, Texas, entered his guilty plea June 4 in federal court admitting he transported three illegal aliens in a Nissan Pathfinder.

Guevara was arrested April 9 after a Robstown Police Department (RPD) officer stopped him for speeding as he was driving the Pathfinder north on U.S. Highway 77 through Robstown.

During the traffic stop, Guevara told the arresting officer that he was a former Cameron County police officer as well as a former narcotics officer with the Los Fresnos (Texas) Police Department.

Once in custody, Guevara told investigators he had transported illegal aliens several times in the past for which he was paid $2,500 per individual he transported.

At the time of his arrest, Guevara was a reserve deputy constable in Cameron County. He is no longer in that position.

Guevara is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 10 by U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos. At that time, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad W. Cowan, Southern District of Texas, is prosecuting this case.