Texas family says son has been in Mexican prison for 9 months after he got lost, mistakenly crossed border
HALLSVILLE, Texas (KLTV/Gray News) – A Texas family is pleading with lawmakers to help bring their son home from what they said is wrongful imprisonment in Mexico.
Caden Hawkins of Hallsville has been in a prison in Juarez, Mexico for nine months after driving to the border and getting lost, according to his family.
The 23-year-old was detained March 2 at the Port of Palomas Border Crossing in Columbus, New Mexico. His family said he was on work assignment and got turned around after following his GPS system while trying to make it back home. They said he did not realize he was driving to the U.S.-Mexico border.
“I am on the phone with Caden, and he starts telling me the speed bumps are so bad in this town he’s in, and then the next thing you know he is telling me that he couldn’t turn around. We hear men around him yelling in Spanish and we just tell him to do what they say,” Hawkins’ mother April Thomas said.
Hawkins filmed on his phone at the border crossing moments before he was handcuffed.
His family said they have since learned he was detained because he had a pistol and bullets in his possession when he arrived at the crossing. They said he had a license to carry the gun.
“This was something that, ‘Oh hey I messed up and get a ticket’, not a year in state prison in a different country,” Hawkins said during a phone call with his family.
Thomas said the situation has been devastating for the family.
“Please give me my baby back, he does not deserve this. My son is not a criminal; this was an honest accident,” Thomas said.
The family said phone calls from the prison are expensive and have totaled in the tens of thousands of dollars over the 267 days Hawkins has been detained.
“This has gone long enough,” Thomas said. “This was an honest accident. Caden would never do anything to hurt anybody and we just want our baby home.”
The family said they are calling on lawmakers and authorities to intervene on their behalf and bring home their son and fiancee, who has not been told when or if he can be set free.
“We need somebody that is more powerful than we are,” Thomas said.
The family said they have been trying to work with authorities in Mexico, but have had no luck so far.
Some lawmakers said they have heard of what is going on with Hawkins and are looking into it.
State Rep. Jay Dean of Longview posted a message on his Facebook page last week calling Texans to action.
“I’m determined to make sure this young man is home for Christmas and with us all working together - we will make it happen!” he said in part.
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