MCALLEN, Texas — A U.S. citizen wanted after escaping from a Beaumont federal prison in July was returned to the U.S. Saturday after being caught in Mexico.
Mexican authorities caught Salvador Garcia Jr., 59, after being notified that he was wanted by the U.S. Marshals according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection news release.
He was turned over to CBP officers and U.S. Marshals at the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge south of McAllen on Saturday.
Garcia escaped along with Victor Luis Pescador, 56, on July 12, 2019 according to a 12News file story.
Garcia was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2005 for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a quantity of marijuana and knowingly evading reporting requirements with financial institutions as part of a pattern of illegal activity by the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Texas according to the file story.
Garcia was involved with the Mexican cartels and helped smuggle 4,000 pounds of marijuana into the U.S. according to the release.
From a U.S. Customs and Border Protection news release…
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, CBP Field Operations at the Hidalgo International Bridge arrested a 59-year-old man who had escaped from a federal prison in Beaumont, Texas back in July of this year.
“We are always ready to assist our local law enforcement partners, whether at the local, state or federal level,” said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, Port of Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas. “Helping locate fugitives of the law is one of the many facets of CBP Field Operations.”
On Dec. 7, CBP officers assigned to the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge were assisted by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Government of Mexico in transferring Salvador Garcia Jr., a U.S. citizen who was apprehended by Mexican authorities after having been notified that he was wanted by the U.S. Marshals for having escaped custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
Garcia was remanded to federal custody for his alleged involvement with Mexican cartels in smuggling over 4,000 pounds of marijuana into the United States.
CBP officers took custody of Garcia and turned him over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Criminal charges are merely allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
