Thread: Illegal Alien, Cartel Suspect: U.S. agents aimed guns at his kids

Suspect: U.S. agents aimed guns at his kids


Updated 12:05 a.m., Saturday, February 25, 2012



Read more: Suspect: U.S. agents aimed guns at his kids - San Antonio Express-NewsAn alleged Gulf Cartel operative facing charges in Houston accuses U.S. agents of aiming the laser sights of their weapons on his 11-year-old American-born triplets during his arrest, then threatening to send him back to Mexico to be “quartered, burned and killed” by rivals if he didn't cooperate.

Eudoxio Ramos Garcia, arrested in October in Rio Grande City, just across the border from Mexico, is charged with orchestrating a conspiracy that involved running bulk loads of marijuana from the border to Houston.

Through his lawyers, Ramos seeks to have a supposed confession and other evidence tossed out on the grounds that agents illegally entered his home, had no warrant to arrest him or right to zap him with a stun gun, and interrogated him for hours without giving him access to an attorney or reading him his rights.

“I believe the court must teach these officers a lesson,” attorney Baltazar Salazar told U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison, who is to rule whether evidence should be suppressed before any trial.

The Drug Enforcement Administration contends the 34-year-old native of Mexico is better known as Commander Carrito.

DEA Agent Mark Schmidt said Ramos was caught speaking on wiretaps, confessed to his role in coordinating the large shipments of marijuana to the United States, and said he's familiar with operations to move cash and weapons back toward Mexico.

Throughout a Friday hearing, he was kept in chains and flanked by deputy marshals. There was no discussion of his innocence.
Salazar conceded the supposed confession was “very damaging” but said it was obtained illegally.

He said his client's statement included knowledge of the players in the Gulf Cartel, which was moving major loads of marijuana to Houston and distributing it, and how smugglers would sneak past Border Patrol checkpoints on highways leading to the border.

Salazar said that shortly after his arrest, Ramos was threatened with being thrown back across the border and into the hands of rivals who would take their time killing him as they exacted revenge.

He was living in deep South Texas as an illegal immigrant and appears to have been taking refuge from such violence in Mexico, Salazar said.
At least a dozen law enforcement officers, including deputy marshals and federal agents, raided Ramos' home in the Rio Grande Valley on the grounds they were looking for a higher-ranking member of the cartel as well as high-powered weapons and grenades.

Instead, they found Ramos and several members of his family, including his children. No guns. No grenades. No drugs.

Agents described a somewhat chaotic scene in which they descended on the home and occupants were ordered to put their hands up and leave the house.

First came his wife and daughters, who had laser sights from officers' weapons pointed on their chests.

Ramos was shot with a stun gun from behind as he walked down the stairs with his hands in the air. He was cuffed and sat on a couch. His wife, in front of the house, was on her knees and in tears.

Underscoring the fear and uncertainty that has swept some of the border region, a real estate agent who also was at the home testified that she thought the agents were criminals from Mexico as they burst through the front door without knocking.

“All they said was, ‘Everybody out and on the ground,'” testified Maria de Los Santos Garza. “I have never seen so many armed men. I thought they were people from Mexico who were going to kill us,” she said as she broke down, prompting the judge to call a brief recess.
Ellison said he'll evaluate arguments and testimony before rendering a decision.

“We all know how this works,” Ellison said. “When guns are drawn and there are concerns about a violent criminal in the house, it would surprise me if all recollection harmonized. It is a situation fraught with concern and peril.”

As Ramos was led from court in shackles, his three daughters, each with matching jeans and shirts, looked on in tears.
“I love you,” one of them said in a slight voice.

My San Antonio

Can't seem to open the link.

Fixed. Thanks, MW.

Maybe they would like officers armed with beanbag guns when confronting dangerous cartel members. We all know how well that works out.

Sad day for the kids, however, maybe this lame excuse for a "daddy" should've made better choices not to get involved in crime...then his kids wouldve NEVER seen such..
Its the "dads" Fault, the cops were DOING THEIR JOB!!!

Those kids would probably end up kidnapped and killed by rival cartels, so how can anyone be upset at the police doing their jobs and protecting the community!