7-09-2024 2:41pm

New Mexico State Police Discover Undocumented Immigrants During Traffic Stop

Chris Edwards Editor

The New Mexico State Police Discover Undocumented Immigrants in trunk of vehicle on traffic stop. A New Mexico State Police officer arrested a driver after finding 3 undocumented immigrants in the trunk of the vehicle.

On June 26, 2024, an NMSP officer conducted a traffic stop on a 2006 BMW passenger vehicle on I-25 near mile marker 27, just past the border patrol checkpoint. The driver was identified as 17-year-old Leland Antonio Munoz Dominguez, who had been reported missing earlier in the year. While planning to release Dominguez to his grandmother, the officer heard a knocking noise coming from the vehicle's trunk.

Upon inspecting the trunk, the officer found three undocumented immigrants inside. Dominguez was detained and Border Patrol was informed. When Border Patrol arrived, they took custody of the immigrants. The Juvenile Probation Office was contacted along with the District Attorney’s office who authorized 3 charges of human trafficking and 1 charge of endangerment of a child due to of one of the immigrants being 16. Dominguez was arrested and booked into the Dona Ana County Juvenile Detention Center.