Texas police have released a picture of the 28-year-old man accused of plotting the nation's deadliest human smuggling operation, where 53 migrants were killed in a truck after the air conditioner failed amid 103 degree temperatures.
Christian Martinez, who reportedly worked for Walmart, was arrested on Tuesday on trafficking charges after dozens died of heatstroke and dehydration as temperatures rose to 150 degrees inside the truck near San Antonio.
According to a criminal complaint released on Friday, Martinez was texting the truck's driver, Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, asking about his whereabouts when the alleged driver failed to meet up with him while transporting the migrants, the Daily Beast reported.
Federal prosecutors said the two suspects face charges carrying potential life sentences or the death penalty, if convicted.
Martinez, of Palestine, Texas, allegedly texted his accomplice at 12:17 p.m. on Monday on where they should meet up, according to the court documents.
The documents claim that after Zambrano texted him to confirm the meetup, Martinez sent him an address to an industrial area just three miles from Mexico.
When Zambrano doesn't reply, Martinez allegedly texts him repeatedly to find out his whereabouts.
'Where are you bro,?' Martinez texts at 1:14 p.m., according to the complaint.
By 3:18 p.m., the documents claim Martinez texted, 'Call me bro, Yes, Call me bro.'
Martinez's final text, at 6:17 p.m., allegedly read, 'WYA?,' meaning, where you at?
It was during that time that Police said Zamorano abandoned 73 migrants in the truck by the roadside in San Antonio, leaving passersby to hear screaming inside the vehicle as they made the gruesome discovery.
San Antonio Police officers were later led to Zamorano's hide-out and detained him. Surveillance footage provided by Laredo Sector border patrol agents showed the tractor-trailer crossing through an immigration checkpoint.
The video confirmed the black-colored shirt with stripe detail and hat was the clothing Zamorano, the driver, had been wearing.'
At the scene, investigators confirmed 48 individuals had died. Twenty-two of those were Mexican nationals, seven were Guatemalan , two Honduran and 17 were of unknown origin but suspected to be undocumented non-citizens, the DOJ reported.