Undocumented immigrant said he had been using dead McAllen man's ID for the past 20 years
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at 3:12 p.m.
Read more: Local, Crime, Mexico
An undocumented immigrant is behind bars after he allegedly used the identity of a dead man from McAllen for the past 20 years.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials said the incident happened at the Gateway International Bridge on Satuday afternoon.
In a statement released Wednesday, customs officials said they charged Jorge Andres Yanez-Garcia is being harced with making a false claim to U.S. citizenship.
The 54-year-old Mexican national was the passenger in a vehicle crossing the international bridge between Brownsville and Matamoros.
Court documents show that Yanez-Garcia allegedly presented a Florida driver's license under the name Roberto Zamarano, Jr.
Yanez-Garcia was sent to secondary inspection where officials learned his true identity through a fringerprint database.
Customs Officials said in their statement that they discovered the real Roberto Zamarano, Jr. had died.
Yanez-Garcia told investigators that he had been living in Bradenton, Florida and had been using Zamarano's papers and identity for the past 20 years.
Click here to read a full copy of the criminal complaint filed against Yanez-Garcia.
