Honduran national accused of human smuggling, holding Chinese immigrant captive in Harris County trailer
Lt. John Klafka, who leads the adult special crimes unit at the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, said the investigation began after authorities received a 911 call from Elderberry Lane about a woman screaming for help, in the area of Beltway 8 and Highway 90. Deputies were told a witness had seen the woman running down the street before a man grabbed her and carried her back to where she had run from.
Deputies spoke to a man at the location who told them he was just a worker and the building was a mechanic shop. There was also a trailer home on the property. When deputies started asking questions, Klafka said the man wasn’t giving a lot of information and claimed he didn’t know anything.
“He knew there was someone in the house, but he claimed to have never seen her or said it was a woman that lived there but didn’t know her, didn’t see her, has never had any interactions with her," Klafka said.
Deputies were ultimately able to get consent to go into the trailer home and after announcing their presence, they heard a faint knocking sound. In one of the bedrooms, they found a closet with a board screwed into it to keep the door shut. When deputies opened the closet, they found the woman inside and started talking to her.
“She said she was a masseuse up in New York. She was offered a position down here in Houston that paid more money. So she was given transportation down here. Someone drove her. Said she spent about four or five days or so in a car driving down here,” Klafka said.
When she got to an unknown location, the woman had her Chinese passport taken from her. She was then moved to the trailer home.
Klafka says the woman told investigators she had been tied up and sexually assaulted several times by the suspect. When she attempted to escape, she was locked inside the closet. She also said she has no idea who the man is.
Investigators believe there may be both more suspects and victims involved, and this may be part of a larger human trafficking operation.
“He obviously is not the one that drove her from New York," Klafka said. “So there’s that, he’s not the person that drove her from the first location in Houston. And, we know there’s other people involved.”
As for the victim, Klafka said she is safe and in an undisclosed location and is receiving counseling and medical care.
“This is a very traumatic event. You know, you’re in a foreign country. You were brought from one giant city to another that’s halfway across the country south. And she has no friends, no family. Nobody is here for her. So we’ve got to do everything we can to ensure that she can trust us to do our jobs and find the rest of the people that are involved in this," Klafka said.
Carcamo’s defense attorney released the following statement to KPRC 2:
“Our client, Mr. Jose Carcamo, is shocked by the serious allegations brought forth against him and firmly maintains his complete innocence. He fully expects that the evidence will ultimately clear his name.
We remind the public that under the United States Constitution, every individual is entitled to the presumption of innocence, the right to due process, and a fair trial. We expect law enforcement, the State of Texas, and the judicial system to honor these fundamental rights without prejudice or assumption.
We will vigorously defend against these accusations and will not litigate this case in the press."
ICE released a statement on Carcamo:
“Jose Armando Carcamo-Perdomo, a 22-year-old illegal alien from Honduras, illegally entered the United States on May 24, 2020, near Hidalgo, Texas. U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered Carcamo-Perdomo Nov. 24, 2020, during a vehicle stop near Falfurrias, Texas, and he was issued a notice to appear. The government exercised prosecutorial discretion under the immigration enforcement priorities at the time, and his immigration case was dismissed by an immigration judge from the Executive Office for Immigration Review Sept. 11, 2023. Deportation officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement encountered Carcamo-Perdomo July 15 at the Harris County Jail following his arrest for aggravated kidnapping, and an immigration detainer was lodged with the jail.”
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