12 Illegal Immigrants Discovered in Van

A van riding suspiciously low to the ground gave away a dozen suspected illegal immigrants who made a short-lived escape through residential North Long Beach after police stopped the vehicle late Sunday.

An officer rounded up the group at gunpoint 10 minutes after a patrol car stopped the van in the 100 block of East 51st Street, Long Beach police spokeswoman Karen Kerr said.

All 12 waived their right to a trial Monday and were granted voluntary return to Mexico, a U.S. Border Patrol spokesman said. Driver Antonio Lopez, 30, was arrested on charges of driving an unsafe vehicle, driving without a seat belt and driving without a license.