A quick-thinking police officer rescued three human trafficking victims.
As a Richland Hills police officer was conducting a traffic stop on Booth Calloway Road for a minor traffic violation early last Sunday morning, he noticed that something appeared to be off.
"His instincts and his training experience led him to see that there was more going on with this vehicle and the occupants than just a normal traffic stop that night," says Capt. Sheena McEachran, a spokeswoman for the Richland Hills Police Department.
None of the five people inside the vehicle spoke any English, and the officer noticed that the three teens in the backseat appeared to be unusually nervous.
The officer called for the Spanish speaking officer on duty to head to the scene; and through his questioning, they were able to determine precisely what was going on.
"He got talking with the passengers in the back and was able to quickly realize that they were actually victims of labor human trafficking," says Capt. McEachran.
The three teens are 17, 18 and 19-years-old, and all are from Guatemala.
"Our officers were able to get the victims out of there safely, and we had enough to go ahead and arrest the driver and the front passenger for human trafficking under 18 because one of them was actually 17-years-old."
The suspects are Jose Leonel Flores, 45, and Jorge Martinez Jimenez, 34.
Both are documented and are facing several felony charges.
The three teens are all undocumented and are being provided victim services.
"It was just one of those things where he was at the right place at the right time," McEachran says of the officer who made the traffic stop. "All our officers get training on human trafficking and things to look for, and he just relied on his training experience and kind of a gut instinct that there was more going on here."
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