[Washington Examiner] Two U.S. soldiers, one from Fort Hood and another from the Pennsylvania National Guard, have been charged with smuggling people across the Mexican border.
Fort Hood soldier Ralph Gregory Saint-Joie, 18, and guardsman Emmanuel Oppongagyare, 20, made their first appearance in court on Tuesday where they were held in custody under $75,000 bonds pending a detention hearing scheduled for next Tuesday, according to a criminal complaint by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, obtained by CNN.
On June 13, Oppongagyaye was reportedly driving a vehicle and Saint-Joie was a passenger as they tried crossing the Hebbronville checkpoint, which is located about 150 miles south of San Antonio. Both soldiers were in uniform at the time.
The National Guard member told agents at the border checkpoint that they were traveling from the border town of Zapata, Texas, to San Antonio.
"The BPA questioned Oppongagyare as to his unusual route of travel to which Oppongagyare stated his Global Positioning System (GPS) took him through this route," the complaint read. "In the BPA's past experience, the GPS direction is a common explanation used by smugglers to justify their unusual route of travel to San Antonio, Texas."
During the agents’ second inspection of the car, two Mexican nationals were found in the trunk of the vehicle.
Oppongagye told the agent that a man he met through Saint-Joie paid him $100 and promised an undetermined additional sum of money if he picked up a man and a woman in McAllen, Texas, and drive them to San Antonio.
"Individual 1 promised to pay Oppongagyare and Saint-Joie an undetermined amount of money when they arrived in San Antonio, Texas, specifically instructed they both wear their United States Army issued uniforms to avoid questioning by BPAs," the complaint read.
Both soldiers face up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas. 
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