Border Patrol Has Eventful Presidents Day Weekend Seizing Narcotics and Making Notabl
Border Patrol Has Eventful Presidents Day Weekend Seizing Narcotics and Making Notable Apprehensions
Release Date: February 20, 2020
SIERRA BLANCA, Texas – U.S. Border Patrol Agents apprehended a previously deported child sex offender and seized nearly 400 pounds of marijuana.
“These arrests and seizures demonstrate the commitment our agents have to protect our country from a wide array of threats. Whether in the brush or on the highway, Border Patrol agents are diligent professionals,” said Big Bend Sector Chief Patrol Agent Matthew J. Hudak
On Thursday, February 13, at approximately 10:00 p.m., agents assigned to the Sierra Blanca Border Patrol Station, utilizing night vision equipment, observed four individuals carrying square shaped backpacks walking through the open desert. Agents and a service canine responded to the individuals last known location and began following the individuals’ footprints. A short while later, a service canine alerted the agents to four burlap backpacks and one individual attempting to conceal himself in thick vegetation.
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Foot print in desert. At the Sierra Blanca Checkpoint the contents of the burlap backpacks tested positive for marijuana and weighed a total of over 200 pounds. The individual apprehended near the marijuana was determined to be a citizen and national of Mexico illegally present in the United States. The subject and narcotics were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
On Sunday, February 16, at approximately 10:30 p.m., Sierra Blanca agents conducted a vehicle stop along Interstate 10 to perform an immigration inspection. During the immigration inspection agents encountered Lorenzo Nino-Gomez a citizen and national of Mexico illegally present in the United States. During processing, records checks revealed Nino was a previously deported felon with a conviction of three counts of sexual penetration of a minor out of Chaves County District Court in Roswell, New Mexico. Nino will be processed according to applicable immigration laws.
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Boot matching foot sign.
On February 19, 2020, in El Paso, Texas, federal authorities filed a criminal complaint against 27-year-old Gregory Keith Robinson, and 26-year-old Jaquan Bray for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, announced U.S. Attorney John F. Bash, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Kyle W. Williamson, El Paso Division, and U.S. Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent Matthew J. Hudak, Big Bend Sector.
The criminal complaint charges the defendants with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana and possession with intent to distribute marijuana. According to the federal criminal complaint, on Monday evening, the defendants approached the Sierra Blanca Checkpoint Station, where a U.S. Border Patrol canine unit alerted on their vehicle. Agents asked the driver (Bray) to park the vehicle in the secondary inspection area for further investigation. A subsequent inspection of the vehicle by agents revealed the presence of approximately 157 pounds of marijuana inside several large duffle bags in the rear cargo area.
The complaint affidavit further states that Robinson rented the vehicle in Los Angeles on Sunday and had arranged for a third individual in the vehicle, an Uber driver he had met in 2018, to drive him and Bray to Louisiana. When the trio reached El Paso, Robinson instructed Bray to begin driving. According to the complaint, when they approached secondary inspection at the Sierra Blanca checkpoint, Robinson asked the third individual to claim the marijuana and that Robinson said he would pay the third individual to do so. The third individual refused and told Robinson he/she would not have driven him had he/she known there were drugs in the vehicle.
Upon conviction, the defendants face up to 20 years in federal prison.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Border Patrol are investigating this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Williams is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.
Big Bend Sector Border Patrol agents patrol 517 miles of the southwest border, an area that extends from Sierra Blanca, Texas to Sanderson, Texas. The Sierra Blanca Station area of responsibility consists of more than half of Hudspeth County or about 2500 square miles. The station is responsible for 73 border miles between the U.S. and Mexico.More than 10,000 vehicles travel through the Sierra Blanca checkpoint on a daily basis.
The U.S. Border Patrol is made up of over 19,000 brave men and women who courageously secure our nation’s borders. Help us secure our homeland, find out more at cbp.gov/careers
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