Danbury cops bust illegal liquor, tobacco sales
By Ethan Fry
STAFF WRITER
Article Last Updated: 07/17/2008 10:03:15 PM EDT

DANBURY -- Two illegal immigrants were arrested Wednesday night as a result of an investigation into illegal liquor and tobacco sales from a Rowan Street address, police said.

Arrested were Milton Galarza, 34, and Julia Rodriguez, 45, both of the same Rowan Street address. Galarza was charged with unlicensed sale of cigarettes, keeping liquor with intent to sell, disposing liquor without a permit, and unauthorized sale of alcohol.

Rodriguez was charged with second-degree forgery.

Both were held on $5,000 bonds and arraigned Thursday in Superior Court.

According to court documents, a judge set bonds for Rodriguez and Galarza at $2,500, though immigration agents placed detainers on both, meaning they'd be held even if they posted bail.

A probable cause report in the court files for both said police executed a search and seizure warrant for 18 Rowan St. about 8:03 p.m. Thursday with the assistance of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Before executing the warrant, the police report said, an undercover Danbury police officer went to the apartment and bought seven bottles of beer and 10 cigarettes from Galarza.

When police executed the warrant, the report said, they detained four Hispanic males and one Hispanic female in the apartment at the time.

The undercover officer identified Galarza as the man who sold him the beer and cigarettes, and identified Rodriguez as a woman who sold him alcohol and tobacco last Thursday, the report said.

A search of the apartment found several 30-packs, 12-packs and loose cans of beer, along with records of occupancy at the apartment for Galarza and fraudulent permanent resident and Social Security cards for Rodriguez, according to the report.
Immigration agents determined Galarza was listed as a "voluntary return," meaning he was stopped at the Mexico border while trying to enter the United States and agreed to return to Mexico, the report said.

Immigration agents ran the names of the three other men detained and found no record of illegal entry for any of them. The three were then released at the scene, according to the report.
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