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By By GARY HARMON The Daily Sentinel

Sunday, December 18, 2005

When Federico Ortega was deported to Mexico in November, it was, in the words of a U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement spokesman, “in order that he didn’t go back onto our streets.�

Within a week after he was sent across the border, according to law enforcement officials familiar with him, Ortega, 30, was haunting the dusty back roads of Delta County, packing a loaded .45-caliber handgun, two clips, a packet of methamphetamine and a pipe for smoking it.

“I know Federico by many contacts earlier this year and recognized him on sight,� Delta County Deputy Sheriff Duane Morton wrote in an affidavit. “Federico is currently a deported felon illegal alien who is wanted on three outstanding (failure to appear) warrants, all for felonies, including assault with a deadly weapon. ... Federico was recently deported by ICE to Mexico and returned to this area within a very short period of time.�

Another officer, Curt Williams of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, put the time between Ortega’s deportation and his return to Colorado at two days.

“Citizens have reported seeing him in the Hotchkiss area as recently as Nov. 11,� Williams wrote in an affidavit seeking a high-dollar bond for Ortega.

Through his attorney, Stephan Schweissing of Grand Junction, Ortega declined to be interviewed.

Ortega was arrested Nov. 15 near Hotchkiss by Morton and Delta County Undersheriff Mark Taylor, who also recognized him from previous contacts.

The most recent charges to pile up against Ortega, who also goes by the name Moses Ortega, were 10 counts filed in connection with authorities’ discoveries during his arrest Nov. 15. The charges include a count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, a count of being a special offender and eight counts related to his alleged violation of bond conditions, including illegal possession of a weapon.

Those charges are in addition to a packet of charges filed in connection with the shooting of a man in Paonia on May 10.

In that case, Ortega was charged with second-degree assault, felony menacing, prohibited use of a weapon and reckless endangerment.

The shooting was described by authorities as the result of a violent outburst related to a romantic triangle involving Ortega, the man he shot and the victim’s girlfriend.

Ortega remained free until June 24, when he was arrested and held immediately in lieu of $125,000 bond. On top of that bond was an immigration hold, which allowed the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to take him into custody, should the agency wish.

Immigration authorities did exactly that after a hearing on the local charges. Although he had been arrested on suspicion of attempted second-degree murder, Ortega was charged with second-degree assault.

Ortega posted $2,500 bond, and, had it not been for the immigration hold, could have walked out of jail.

Federal officials took custody of Ortega and removed him from the jail Sept. 19. An immigration judge ordered him deported Oct. 20, and seven days later, on Oct. 27, he was sent across a bridge into Mexico from El Paso, Texas, according to the Bureau of Immigration.

During Ortega’s absence from Delta County, authorities launched an investigation that resulted in Ortega being sought in connection with sexual assault on a child. Ortega is alleged to have assaulted a 15-year-old girl May 1 in Paonia. He faces a hearing on that charge this week in Delta County.

“He’s a dangerous guy,� Taylor said.

Delta authorities said they’re bewildered by the chain of events that took Ortega from custody in the county jail to a federal lockup, then to Mexico and then back within days to Delta County.

“From a law-enforcement standpoint, I don’t understand it,� said Jack Haynes, supervisor of the Delta-Montrose Drug Task Force.

Ortega’s speed in returning to Colorado took aback Steve Camarata, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C.

“The border’s really, really porous,� Camarata said, “but that’s quick.�

Ortega now is in the Delta County Jail in lieu of more than $1 million bail on the state charges.

Federal officials said they are contemplating filing their own case against him, which could include a charge of illegal re-entry into the United States â€â€