A Starr County teen is facing a serious felony charge. Investigators say he guided five people around Border Patrol agents. It happened early Friday morning. The time was about 5:45 a.m. on July 24, 2026. The spot was near the Border Patrol station in Rio Grande City. The teen turned 17 that very same day. It was his birthday.

His name is Juan Adrian Alvarado Garza. He lives in Starr County. He is now charged with smuggling of persons. Two of the five people he is accused of guiding were kids younger than 18. That fact makes the charge a felony. It can mean 2 to 20 years in prison.

Starr County sits right on the border with Mexico. This case stands out for one reason. The person accused of guiding the group is a minor himself. Two of the people he is accused of guiding were kids too.

Border Patrol agents told Texas Department of Public Safety officers what they saw that morning. Agents said Alvarado Garza guided five people who were in the country without papers. Two of the five were kids younger than 18. Agents say the group tried to dodge getting caught as they crossed.

Texas DPS Investigator Arnoldo Chapa took the case. He carries badge number 14831. Chapa said he was a state officer. He told Alvarado Garza he was under arrest. The arrest was for smuggling people younger than 18.

At first, Alvarado Garza lied about his age. He gave police a birth date that would make him 15, not 17. Because of that false age, police took him to the Starr County Juvenile Detention Center. He did not go to the adult jail at first.

Once he got to the juvenile center, Alvarado Garza changed his story. He said he had lied to police. He gave his real birth date, July 24, 2009. That is the same date agents caught him. It means he turned 17 the morning he was arrested.

Lying about who he was added a second charge on top of the felony. Police charged him with failure to identify, giving false information. That charge is a Class B misdemeanor. It is a smaller charge than the smuggling charge. It is still a crime in Texas to give a fake name to police.

Texas law calls the main charge smuggling of persons. It falls under Texas Penal Code 20.05. In general terms, that charge covers guiding, hiding, or moving people who crossed the border without papers. A child being part of the group makes the charge worse. It becomes a more serious felony. That is the charge Alvarado Garza now faces.

Police did not name the five people Alvarado Garza is accused of guiding. The complaint does not name one single victim. It describes five people who crossed the border without papers. Two of them were kids younger than 18.

In total, Alvarado Garza faces two charges. The first is smuggling of persons, under Texas Penal Code 20.05. It can mean 2 to 20 years in prison because a child was in the group. The second is failure to identify. That is a smaller charge for giving police a fake name.

After he was booked and charged, Alvarado Garza was released to Starr County Jail staff. No further trouble was reported at that time. No court date has been made public yet.

Alvarado Garza is 17 years old. His name appears in the felony complaint filed by Texas DPS. El Tejano will keep following this case. Updates will be reported as they come.