A woman faced a federal judge in Brownsville after she allegedly tried to smuggle her common law husband in the trunk of her car.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers arrested Lashonda Dawn Martinez on human smuggling charges on Monday.
Court records released Wednesday show that Martinez drove up to the Veterans International Bridge in Brownsville.
The records show that her common law husband Juan Gabriel Morales-Nino was hiding along the back wall of the trunk behind heavy clothes, toolboxes and a black tarp.
Martinez was only identified as a United States citizen.
She allegedly told customs officers that Morales-Niño was her common law husband and that she was not making money smuggling him.
Court records show that Morales-Niño is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico and is now listed as a material witness in a criminal case against his common law wife.
Martinez appeared before U.S. Magistrate Court Judge Felix Recio on Tuesday morning where she was denied bond until a Friday morning hearing.
Judge Recio gave Martinez’s common law husband a $5,000 bond.
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