Alleged smuggler arrested after woman dies hiding in his truck, federal officials say

A 26-year-old man was arrested Sunday after a Mexican woman he picked up near the border died while hiding in his truck, authorities said.

Efren Jimenez was taken into custody late Sunday when a father and son saw him dragging the woman’s body off a remote canyon road in San Juan Capistrano, according to an affidavit filed this week in U.S. District Court.

Jimenez has been charged with transporting or moving a person who has illegally entered the U.S., according to federal authorities.

Authorities are still seeking to notify the woman’s family of her death, said Lt. Lane Lagaret, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. The 33-year-old woman’s name has not been released.

An autopsy was performed, but the cause of her death has not been determined, Lagaret said. Authorities are awaiting toxicology test results.

Jimenez’s trip to the border Sunday was prompted by a phone call from a smuggler called “Chorizo,” according to court documents.

Jimenez told federal authorities that the smuggler called him and offered to pay him $380 to transport a man and woman to Los Angeles, Monica Abend, a special agent with U.S. Department of Homeland Security, wrote in the affidavit.

The smuggler instructed Jimenez to pick up the man and woman Sunday afternoon near Viejas Casino in Alpine, according to the agent. He told Jimenez the woman was “slow,” Abend wrote.

At 5:30 p.m., Jimenez met the man and the woman, who was limping, in Campo. They got in Jimenez’s Nissan Titan pickup truck. She laid down on the back seat floor and the man laid flat on the back seat, according to the affidavit.

Jimenez said he gave them water, and then the male passenger told him the woman had asthma.

Before hitting the road, Jimenez met a friend at a gas station near Campo to pick up cash to buy gas. After refueling, he got onto the northbound 5 Freeway.

It was near Carlsbad when things took a turn for the worse, Jimenez told the agent.

The woman started shaking, Jimenez said. The male passenger told Jimenez she was dying, according to the affidavit.

Not long after, the woman was dead, Jimenez told authorities.

Jimenez said he called the smuggler, who instructed him to give her CPR, the agent wrote. He got off the freeway and shook the woman, Abend said.

“Jimenez felt her skin and thought that she felt cool,” the agent wrote.

He got back onto the 5 Freeway and called his brother to arrange a meeting at a Carl’s Jr. restaurant in San Juan Capistrano. On his way there, he stopped again to refuel. Jimenez later dropped off the male passenger at the fast food restaurant, according to the affidavit.

He called the smuggler again, Abend said.

“Chorizo” directed Jimenez to drop off the body behind a 7-11 store and call 911,” she wrote.

He instead drove off the road at La Novia Avenue and Forster Canyon Road and removed the woman’s body, according to the affidavit.

That’s when the father and son saw him dragging the woman. They went over and tried to feel for the woman’s pulse, Abend wrote.

When they walked over to Jimenez’s truck to call 911, he motioned at them to leave, according to court documents.

In response, the father took Jimenez to the ground and detained him while they called 911.

As the father and son waited for authorities, they allowed Jimenez to call his girlfriend in Tijuana.

They heard some of Jimenez’s conservation, including the phrases “went bad,” “got messed up” and “I love you.”

Sheriff’s detectives are investigating and could seek charges if they determine a crime was committed, authorities said.

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

Twitter: VeronicaRochaLA