Man gets 10-year sentence for smuggling 17 migrants in 'cloned' delivery truck in Texas

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Cezanne Megel Patterson | Credit: Texas DPS

DEL RIO, Texas - A man arrested after 17 migrants were found in a "cloned" Lowe's delivery truck near the Texas-Mexico border last year has been sentenced to a decade in prison. 

Man sentenced for ‘cloned’ truck smuggling

Cezanne Megel Patterson, 29, of Jackson, Mississippi, was arrested on Aug. 30, 2024, after a traffic stop near the town of Del Rio, close to the U.S. border in southern Texas. 

The traffic stop was performed by the Texas Department of Public Safety on what appeared to be a delivery truck for the home improvement store Lowe's. The truck was found to be a fake "clone" of a Lowe's delivery vehicle, with a three-foot-wide hidden compartment area inside the box trailer.

According to Texas DPS, officials found 17 undocumented immigrants inside the compartment during the traffic stop. The compartment was also found to have no air ventilation. 

Patterson was arrested and charged with smuggling of persons with the likelihood of serious bodily injury or death. On Thursday, July 24, Patterson was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

What they're saying:

"Patterson’s case is the perfect example of the dangerous lengths smugglers will go to when risking human lives for profit," said DPS South Texas Region Chief Arturo Dela Garza. "Human smuggling is a serious crime, and I am proud of the collaborative work between our State Troopers and local prosecutors to hold smugglers, like Patterson, accountable."

"Our office is thankful for the hard work of Trooper Sara Hernandez and lead prosecutor Assistant District Attorney Amanda Poole in bringing this case to a successful sentence," said Texas 63rd Judicial District Attorney Suzanne West. "We could not finish these cases without the cooperation of DPS and our other law enforcement partners. I would also like to thank Investigator Tom Wylie for all the background work that goes into completing a case like this."