Mexican Citizen Indicted for Carjacking

McALLEN, TX—Edgar Quezada-Luna, 21, of Mexico, has been charged with carjacking, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno announced today. The three-count indictment was returned yesterday in federal court in McAllen, Texas.

According to allegations in a federal criminal complaint filed in McAllen, Texas on Feb. 18, 2011, Quezada-Luna allegedly stole a black BMW X-5 luxury sport utility vehicle from a female driver at gunpoint near the Arts District Business Center on North Main Street in McAllen shortly before 2 a.m. on Aug. 7, 2010. He allegedly had someone transport the BMW into Mexico. The indictment also charges him with two other alleged carjackings—the carjacking of a 2006 BMW X-3 on July 30, 2010, and the carjacking of a 2007 Mercedes-Benz ML350 on Oct. 14, 2010.

Quezada-Luna had been in state custody facing state charges since Oct. 20, 2010, and was taken into federal custody for an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Ormsby in McAllen on Feb. 22, 2011. On Feb. 25, 2011, Judge Ormsby ordered Quezada-Luna detained without bond pending trial.

Each federal carjacking charge carries a maximum sentence, upon conviction, of up to 15 years in federal prison with no parole, a term of supervised release of up to three years, and a fine of up to $250,000.

This case was investigated by the FBI and police departments in McAllen, Mission, and Edinburg, Texas. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Sully and Jimmy Leo are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.

A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.