10-Year Sentence for Man Who Tried to Smuggle 17 People Through Del Rio in Fake Lowe's Truck

DEL RIO, Texas – A significant human smuggling case originating from a traffic stop near Del Rio has concluded with a 10-year prison sentence for Cezanne Megel Patterson, age 29, of Jackson, Mississippi. Patterson was sentenced on July 24, 2025, after being convicted of smuggling 17 undocumented immigrants. Patterson was apprehended after a DPS Trooper stopped what appeared to be a Lowe’s Home Improvement Store delivery truck (coined as a “cloned truck”) on US-277 outside of town.

Case information was detailed in a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) press release dated July 30, 2025. It states: “Back on Aug. 30, 2024, a DPS Trooper conducted a traffic stop on a what appeared to be a Lowe’s Home Improvement Store delivery truck along US-277 outside of Del Rio. During a search of the vehicle, which Patterson was driving, the Trooper discovered 17 illegal immigrants crammed inside a three-foot-wide false compartment area with no air ventilation. Patterson was immediately arrested and charged with smuggling of persons with the likelihood of serious bodily injury or death.”

DPS South Texas Region Chief Arturo Dela Garza underscored the danger of such operations, stating, "Patterson’s case is the perfect example of the dangerous lengths smugglers will go to when risking human lives for profit." This prosecution aligns with efforts to combat transnational criminal activity under Operation Lone Star.

This case was prosecuted by the Border Prosecution Unit with Texas’ 63rd Judicial District Court in Brackettville. The 10-year sentence reflects enhanced penalties for human smuggling enacted into Texas law in 2023, which established a mandatory minimum sentence. Patterson will serve his time in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) prison system.

The video of Patterson’s arrest is available here through DPS.