In a shocking case of human smuggling, Cezanne Megel Patterson, a 29-year-old resident of Jackson, Mississippi, was sentenced to 10 years in a Texas prison for transporting 17 undocumented migrants in a fake Lowe’s delivery truck. The incident, which unfolded on August 30, 2024, near Del Rio, Texas, exposed the dangerous lengths to which smugglers will go for profit, putting vulnerable lives at risk.
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), operating under the state’s Operation Lone Star border security initiative, conducted a routine traffic stop on US-277 in Kinney County, close to the U.S.-Mexico border. The vehicle, disguised as a Lowe’s Home Improvement Store delivery truck, raised suspicions due to expired tags and inconsistencies in the driver’s travel itinerary. Patterson, who claimed to be a subcontractor and was even wearing a Lowe’s T-shirt, displayed unusual behavior during the stop, prompting further scrutiny.
With Patterson’s consent, DPS troopers searched the truck’s cargo area and discovered a false compartment, just three feet wide, hidden behind new wood paneling. Inside this cramped, unventilated space, they found 17 migrants—13 men and 4 women from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. The group was packed so tightly that many were drenched in sweat, suffering from dehydration and numbness in their legs. Several required immediate medical attention before being turned over to U.S. Border Patrol.
Patterson was arrested on the spot and charged with smuggling of persons with the likelihood of serious bodily injury or death, a serious offense under Texas law, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years. On July 24, 2025, the 63rd Judicial District Court in Texas handed down the decade-long sentence, highlighting the state’s commitment to cracking down on human smuggling. “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.”
The incident, which gained attention after DPS released video footage of the bust, serves as a stark reminder of the inhumane conditions migrants often endure at the hands of smugglers. Texas authorities continue to emphasize the importance of Operation Lone Star in curbing such illegal activities, noting that the multi-agency effort has led to over 518,900 apprehensions and more than 46,300 criminal arrests since its inception. For Patterson, the cloned Lowe’s truck was a calculated deception, but it couldn’t evade the vigilance of Texas DPS, ensuring justice for the 17 individuals endangered in his scheme.