WASHINGTON: A Los Angeles police officer has been charged with smuggling a Mexican man into the country in the trunk of an SUV.
A federal complaint filed Monday says 34-year-old Carlos Quezada Jr. tried to enter the U.S. at San Diego’s Otay Mesa port of entry.
He and a 31-year-old female passenger were arrested Saturday night after an X-ray machine alerted border inspectors to a man hiding in the spare tire area of a Nissan Juke.
Los Angeles police spokeswoman Rosario Herrera says Quezada has worked at the department for 10 years and is assigned to the Hollywood division. He is on paid leave until the investigation is completed.
A judge set Quezada’s bond at $20,000 and appointed an attorney, David Silldorf, who declined a request for comment.
