Thread: Couple arrested for allegedly trying to bribe Border Patrol (updated)

Couple arrested for allegedly trying to bribe Border Patrol agent

lcsun-news.com
By Ashley Meeks
Posted: 11/21/2011 11:46:56 PM MST

LAS CRUCES - A Texas couple has been jailed on charges they tried to bribe a Border Patrol agent into letting them smuggle a family member and 10 kilograms of cocaine into the country, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

FBI agents arrested Debbie Ayala, 25, of San Elizario, Texas, and David Rogelio Leyva, 27, of Socorro, Texas, on Friday in Horizon City, Texas.

They were booked into the Do a Ana County Detention Center shortly after.

If convicted of conspiracy and bribery, the defendants could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison and $500,000 in fines for conspiracy and bribery, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

On Jan. 12, 2010, Ayala and Leyva allegedly tried to offer $700 to $800 to the agent so they could smuggle Ayala's cousin from Mexico - possibly through Deming, according to the indictment. Ayala also allegedly offered to pay $1,000 to $2,000 if she could be allowed to smuggle in a quantity of cocaine, but the agent refused the offer, according to the unsealed indictment.

On Jan. 26, 2010, Ayala and Leyva allegedly met with a second officer at a business in El Paso, offering to pay $500 per kilogram of smuggled cocaine, according to the indictment.

Ayala had gone to school with both federal officials, the indictment states, while Leyva allegedly said he "worked with a group of drug traffickers based in Mexico."

Ayala and Leyva made their initial appearances Monday in federal court in Las Cruces and will remain in custody pending detention hearings. Ayala is scheduled to appear to appeal her detention at 9:30 a.m. today, while Leyva's detention hearing has yet to be scheduled.

The two-count indictment is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Internal Affairs and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark A. Saltman.

An indictment is only an accusation. All criminal defendants are entitled to a presumption of innocence until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Ashley Meeks can be reached at (575) 541-5462;

http://www.lcsun-news.com/dona_ana_news ... source=rss

Published at 3:07 pm EST, October 27, 2012
hispanicallyspeakingnews.com

A federal judge in Las Cruces, New Mexico sentenced Debbie Ayala, 26, of San Elizardo, Texas, and David Rogelio Leyva, 27, of Socorro, Texas, to five-year prison terms for conspiring to bribe a public official, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales. Ayala and Leyva will be on supervised release for three years after they complete their prison sentences.

Ayala and Leyva were arrested on November 18, 2011, in Horizon City, Texas, based on a two-count indictment charging them with conspiracy and bribery of a public official. The indictment charged that, between January 10, 2010 and March 1, 2010, the defendants conspired illegally to smuggle Ayala’s cousin and 10 kilograms of cocaine from Mexico into the United States by offering money to a U.S. Border Patrol agent, who refused the defendants’ offer.

It further charged that, on January 26, 2010, an undercover officer met with Ayala and Leyva and discussed payment and the logistics of smuggling Ayala’s cousin into the United States. During this meeting, Ayala, Leyva, and the undercover officer agreed that the undercover officer would smuggle 10 kilograms of cocaine into the United States for a fee of $500 per kilogram of cocaine.

On June 5, 2012, Ayala entered a guilty plea to the conspiracy count of the indictment. In entering her guilty plea, Ayala admitted that on January 10, 2010, she approached a U.S. Border Patrol agent with whom she had gone to school and asked the agent to smuggle her cousin in exchange for compensation. Although the U.S. Border Patrol agent declined to assist Ayala, the agent agreed to introduce Ayala to another U.S. Border Patrol agent who was willing to help Ayala.

Ayala admitted that, on January 26, 2010, Leyva and she met with a U.S. Border Patrol agent, who unbeknownst to Ayala was actually an undercover FBI agent, to discuss the price to be paid for smuggling the cousin into the United States. During that conversation, Ayala and Leyva asked the undercover FBI agent if he also could assist with smuggling cocaine into the United States in exchange for a fee of $500 per kilogram.

On June 19, 2012, Leyva also entered a guilty plea to the conspiracy count of the indictment. During his plea hearing, Leyva admitted his participation in the conspiracy to bribe a U.S. Border Patrol in exchange for smuggling Ayala’s cousin into the United States and also to smuggle cocaine into the country.

Count two of the indictment, charging Ayala and Leyva with bribery of a public official, was dismissed after the two defendants were sentenced.

Texas Couple Sentenced to 5 Years for Conspiring to Bribe a Border Patrol Agent - Hispanically Speaking News