Schaumburg man charged with human smuggling at southern border

A 24-year-old Schaumburg man faces felony human smuggling charges after authorities say he was caught Tuesday driving two undocumented immigrants in a stolen car near the southern border in Arizona.

Graesen A. Jackson was arrested and booked into the booked into the Cochise County (Arizona) Jail after a vehicle chase involving county sheriff’s deputies, U.S. Border Patrol agents, Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers and Bureau of Land Management officers, officials said.

According to the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded at about 4:32 p.m. Tuesday to a report of a 2019 Mazda hatchback failing to stop for Border Patrol agents while driving near Bisbee, Arizona.

Officers from several agencies, backed by air support, pursued the vehicle as it drove erratically and traveled into opposing lanes of traffic in attempts to evade capture, authorities said. Deputies ultimately ended the chase by deploying tire deflation devices, sheriff’s police said.

The men in the vehicle — later identified as Jackson and two immigrants — then fled on foot, but were captured, authorities said. The migrants were turned over to Border Patrol for processing, officials said.

The Mazda later was reported stolen from a Burger King restaurant in Bisbee, the sheriff’s office reported.

Cochise County jail records show Jackson remained in custody Thursday on $150,000 bail. Jail records indicate he’s facing additional charges, including resisting arrest and fleeing, and also may have an address in Streamwood.