An attorney in Corpus Christi, Texas, who was federally appointed and licensed as a magistrate in 2003 was arrested on Aug. 13 on accusations of smuggling illegal aliens and resisting arrest, according to police.
“A licensed Texas attorney and federally appointed immigration magistrate was recently arrested in Kinney County, Texas, for smuggling of a human and resisting arrest,” Fullen wrote.
Japhet was not identified in the release, but Fullen’s post included a photo of his law license, which indicated he was licensed in May 2003. In other pictures, it appears the attorney transported the four illegal immigrants in a black 2018 model four-door BMW.
The state’s initiative was launched in March 2021 as a response to a massive rise in illegal immigration. Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas) beefed up the number of state troopers on border roads to intercept smuggling operations and Texas National Guardsmen to augment security and observation along the border.
Upon Japhet’s arrest, he claimed that he picked up hitchhikers and started speeding upon feeling uneasy with the four men in his car, further explaining that he wanted to get law enforcement’s attention by speeding, hoping to get pulled over.
“I stopped to let my dog take a [expletive] and a guy walked up and asked for a ride to his job site,” Japhet said, Click 2 Houston reported. “Then three other guys jumped in the backseat.”
However, Fullen was skeptical of the attorney’s claims that he intended to be stopped by law enforcement, pointing out he passed several border agents who had another car stopped as part of a human smuggling investigation.
“Why didn’t you simply pull up alongside them and tell them, ‘hey guys, I need help,’” Fullen questioned. “Instead, he went past them at a high rate of speed and just kept on going.”
