Documents: Man admitted involvement in smuggling incident to informant

TYLER – A Palestine man arrested for conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death admitted his involvement to a confidential informant, according to court documents. According to our news partner KETK, Christian Martinez, 28, was arrested June 29 in connection to the tractor trailer smuggling incident in San Antonio that resulted in 53 fatalities, and it was revealed soon after the incident that Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tyler had an active investigation into Martinez. Through HSI Tyler and Palestine Police, an informant was identified, who told investigators that “Martinez said the driver was unaware the air conditioning unit stopped working and was the reason why the individuals died,” the criminal complaint said. Martinez’s preliminary and detention hearing is set for July 18 in San Antonio.