Results 1 to 2 of 2
Thread Information
Users Browsing this Thread
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
-
04-16-2005, 12:22 AM #1
Former BP agent pleas guilty on smuggling charge
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexi ... 5luis.html
Man enters plea on smuggling charge
By Onell R. Soto
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
April 15, 2005
A former Border Patrol agent who was caught ferrying 750 pounds of marijuana from the Mexican U.S.-Mexico border in Imperial County in his patrol vehicle pleaded guilty in San Diego federal court yesterday to drug smuggling.
Luis Higareda, 31, faces a minimum five-year sentence at a hearing scheduled for July 5. He is being held without bail.
Under questioning by U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara L. Major, he said that while in uniform, he met some people in an off-road area on Jan. 4 and they loaded his patrol vehicle with duffel bags full of marijuana.
He said one of the men got into the back of the truck, where captured illegal border-crossers usually are placed.
Higareda said he planned to drop off give the marijuana with to other people who were to distribute it.
Initial reports characterized the incident as a high-speed chase, but prosecutor John Kirby said in an earlier court hearing that Higareda was driving fast while he was followed by undercover agents but didn't lead them on a chase.
Higareda and his passenger, Marcelino Verdugo Cota, 24, were arrested about 20 miles from the border in Holtville.
Verdugo, a citizen of Mexico who lived for a while in the United States, also pleaded guilty to drug smuggling yesterday and is scheduled to be sentenced the at the same time as Higareda.
Higareda's lawyer, Steven Barth, said outside court that the former agent is "very remorseful."
Barth said he would investigate whether Higareda qualifies for an exception to the minimum 5-five-year prison sentence.
Nobody else has been arrested in connection with the smuggling attempt, authorities said.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------RIP Butterbean! We miss you and hope you are well in heaven.-- Your ALIPAC friends
Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at http://eepurl.com/cktGTn
-
04-16-2005, 07:52 AM #2
- Join Date
- Mar 2005
- Posts
- 2,032
Barth said he would investigate whether Higareda qualifies for an exception to the minimum 5-five-year prison sentence.
RRThe men who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try to do nothing and succeed. " - Lloyd Jones
CBP Arrest Mexican Citizen Carrying Child Porn at Texas Port of...
03-28-2024, 09:24 PM in illegal immigration News Stories & Reports