By 
Story by TIM SULLIVAN
A member of the violent Valluco gang in the Valley is behind bars after being apprehended during a human smuggling operation. It started Tuesday when a DPS aircraft spotted two people getting out of a suspected smuggling vehicle at a truck stop in Donna.
The pilots notified troopers on the ground, they tried to pull the vehicle over but the driver sped off leading the troopers on a high-speed chase through commercial and residential areas of Donna before they caused the vehicle to crash. A short foot chase ensued before troopers caught up to and tackled the driver.
Juan Xavier Rodriguez of Mission was arrested on charges of human smuggling and evading arrest. Authorities had been trying to locate Rodriguez who was wanted on a federal warrant for violating probation on a previous human smuggling conviction.
