HOUSTON – A human smuggling operation in southeast Houston came to an end Wednesday when a man escaped his captor by jumping from a second-floor window, leading to the arrest of a twice-convicted felon.
Cameron Tucker, 25, faces aggravated kidnapping charges after allegedly holding a man captive and demanding ransom from his family in Mexico, according to Houston Police Department investigators.
Surveillance footage captured the early morning police response at a house on Kingsflower Circle, where the victim had been forced to stay in a closet. He told investigators he didn’t get food on the third day but eventually managed to escape by moving a mattress that blocked a bedroom door and leaping from a second-story window, investigators said.
The victim found police officers who were nearby on an unrelated call and led them back to the residence. Officers broke down the door and discovered Tucker hiding outside the property.
“I heard the helicopters and I heard dogs barking,” a neighbor who requested anonymity said. “They were here about 4:45 in the morning and all the way until 6 in the evening.”
Neighbors said they had no previous problems with Tucker and even described him as respectful when they saw him. They said he had been renting the home, which was covered in security cameras, for approximately six months.
Days before the arrest, he allegedly drove halfway to Eagle Pass, Texas, where he picked up the victim from a woman who had helped facilitate the illegal border crossing for $2,000.
That woman, who hasn’t been identified, drove the victim to the border and dropped him off, when she allegedly drove across illegally while he made his way into the U.S. on foot and she picked him back up again, investigators said. He told investigators that he stayed at homes in Eagle Pass for three nights before coming to Houston.
According to police, Tucker drove the victim to Houston on the vehicle’s floorboard. Once at the southeast Houston residence, Tucker allegedly held a gun to the man’s head while demanding a ransom payment of 40,000 pesos (approximately $2,000) from the victim’s family in Mexico.
“Around 12, 2 o’clock in the morning, 2:30 in the morning, that’s when they would come out,” a neighbor said, describing the unusual activity at the house.
The incident highlights the ongoing challenge of human smuggling, which Homeland Security Investigations describes as a multi-billion dollar industry. Law enforcement officials emphasize that smugglers prioritize profit over the safety of individuals they transport.
“It does make you think twice because we’re not too far, and I had no idea that was going on,” the neighbor said, expressing shock at the criminal activity in their family-oriented community.
Prosecutors have requested Tucker be held without bond due to his status as a twice-convicted felon, according to records.
At last check, HPD said victim was being questioned by Homeland Security investigators, but Tim Oberle, spokesperson for ICE Houston, hasn’t responded to KPRC 2.