Web posted
Friday, October 14, 2005
22 people found riding in one pickup
By FOSS FARRAR
Traveler Staff Writer
A pickup truck with 22 Spanish-speaking people who said they were on their way from western Kansas to Kentucky to look for work was stopped by the Kansas Highway Patrol Thursday evening near Strother Field, a highway patrol trooper said today.
The group mostly was made up of adult males but also included one female and two juveniles, said Trooper Robert LeVelle. The truck, southbound on U.S. 77, was weaving between lanes.
"I stopped the truck for failing to maintain a single lane of traffic," he said.
There were seven or eight people seated in the front of the pickup and 15 or 16 were in the truck bed, which had a topper, he said.
"They indicated they were from Ulysses, Kan., and were on their way to Kentucky, but I have my doubts," LeVelle said.
The highway patrol sent three units to the scene. Other local law enforcement agencies assisted, including the Cowley County Sheriff's Department, the Arkansas City Police Department and the Winfield Police Department.
An interpreter from the ACPD helped officers communicate with the group, which was made up of 21 Hispanics and one Honduran, LeVelle said.
The 22 people were transported to the jail in a bus dispatched by jail officials, he said.
The truck windows were "spray-painted black so you couldn't see inside," he said.
No alcohol or weapons were involved in the incident, and the group was cooperative, LeVelle said.
They were taken to the County Jail in Winfield where paper work was done and the immigration officials in Wichita were notified, the trooper said.
Immigration officials arrived about 1 a.m. today to take the group to Wichita for procedures that could lead to deportation, LeVelle said.
A Creekstone Farms official said today he had not heard of last night's traffic stop incident. He said any employees hired by the meat packing house must first apply at the state Workforce Development Center at Strother Field and be screened through an on-line program provided by the immigration service.
"We verify that they are authorized to work in the U.S. before we hire them," said Rusty Wright, director of human resources for Creekstone. The company employs a large number of Hispanic people.
LeVelle said the pickup truck was being checked for drugs late this morning.
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