Missing teen arrested after migrants found in vehicle, police say

Leland Antonio Munoz Dominguez,17, was reported missing earlier this year
Police say they found three migrants in his car during a traffic stop
He faces three counts of human trafficking, one count child endangerment

Updated: Jul 10, 2024 / 12:03 PM CDT

Leland Munoz Dominguez, 17. Photo: New Mexico State Police

(NewsNation) — A New Mexico teenager who was reported missing was found driving a vehicle with three migrants inside, police said.

New Mexico State Police (NMSP) said Leland Antonio Munoz Dominguez, who was reported missing earlier this year, was pulled over June 26 near Las Cruces.

Police planned to release the 17-year-old to his grandmother, but an officer heard a knocking noise coming from the vehicle’s trunk, the department wrote in a post on Facebook. Police found three migrants, including a 16-year-old, inside.

Police made the discovery during a traffic stop on Interstate 25 near a Border Patrol checkpoint.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection took custody of the migrants, who were in the country illegally, while the local police arrested Dominguez.

The district attorney’s office authorized three human trafficking charges and one charge of endangerment of a child. Dominguez was booked into the Dona Ana County Juvenile Detention Center.