NewsLocal NewsCollier County

Actions

Crash leads to human smuggling arrest in Naples

Local man wanted in Texas for April 2021 case
Trevor Dejon Hatchett Waithe
NaplesCrime
Posted at 12:39 PM, Apr 07, 2022
and last updated 2022-04-07 19:08:20-04

NAPLES, Fla. — A 22-year-old Naples man was arrested early Thursday morning on charges of human smuggling following a crash.

Florida Highway Patrol troopers responded to a report of a rear-end crash near the intersection of Immokalee Rd. and Collier Blvd. around 6:30 a.m.

Trevor Dejon Hatchett Waithe, a passenger in the Dodge Charger found to be at fault, was arrested when his ID matched a warrant issued by U.S. Marshals in Texas on charges of human smuggling.

Reports show Waithe was the driver of a tractor-trailer in an April 2021 incident where 62 illegal immigrants were discovered in the truck. Waithe reportedly told Border Patrol investigators then that an acquaintance had asked him to pick up the truck in Laredo and take it to Florida.

Waithe was booked into the Collier County Jail pending possible extradition.

Troopers say the driver of the at-fault vehicle ran away from the scene of the crash and remains at large.

A week before he was arrested in Texas, Waithe was Charlotte County for possession of a controlled substance and driving without a license. He also has been arrested three times in Collier County — once for carrying a concealed weapon and twice for driving without a license.

Waithe also did not have a drivers license when he was arrested in Texas.

In June, Waithe pled guilty in Texas to one count of knowingly transporting an illegal alien. Right now it’s unclear if he was sentenced and when he returned to Naples.

An official from U.S. Customs and Border Protection deferred comment to the U.S. Attorney's Office. FOX4 reached out to officials at the Southern District of Texas attorney's office but has not heard back.