Thread: FBI SWAT targets San Ysidro home of Border Patrol agent

FBI SWAT targets San Ysidro home of Border Patrol agent

By Debbi Baker and Pauline Repard
Originally published January 11, 2011 at 10:13 a.m., updated January 11, 2011 at 4:20 p.m.

SOUTH SAN DIEGO COUNTY — Federal agents and San Diego police swarmed a San Ysidro neighborhood early Tuesday as an FBI SWAT team served a warrant at a Border Patrol agent's home, looking for his father who is believed to be in the United States illegally, authorities said.

More than a dozen FBI agents, SWAT officers, Border Patrol officers, an evidence team and San Diego police targeted the home of agent Marcos Gerardo Manzano Jr. on Shooting Star Drive about 6 a.m.

At least one Customs and Border Protection internal affairs official also was present.

A federal complaint alleges that Manzano Jr. harbored his father illegally at his home and lied about it when questioned by other Border Patrol agents.

The complaint said the elder Manzano was seen at his son's home several times since September 2009.

It was not immediately clear if Manzano or his father, Marcos Gerardo Manzano Sr., were taken into custody.

FBI spokesman Darrell Foxworth said agents arrested Jose Garrido, 26, on immigration charges at the house on Shooting Star. According to a federal complaint, Garrido, who has a criminal history, is suspected of entering the country illegally after being removed to Mexico on Oct. 27.

Foxworth said a federal judge sealed the search warrant affidavit that lays out the reasons investigators have for going into the home.

Besides arresting Garrido, authorities detained and questioned another man and three women who were in the house, Foxworth said. A 6-year-old boy also had been in the house.

Residents were given limited access to the neighborhood south of state Route 905 while authorities barred Shooting Star Drive at Del Sur Boulevard and Antares Drive, and at a number of small streets for several hours.

FBI agents in bullet-proof vests combed the house, garage and grounds into the afternoon. The front yard appeared littered with debris, the garage was full of objects and several vehicles were parked in front of the house.

One Shooting Star Court resident said it was “scaryâ€

San Diego TV news just said the agent is in custody and the father is on the run.

omg. What a disgrace. Makes me wonder if this border patrol agent was doing anything else shady. Since our federal government is lax on immigration he prolly felt that it was perfectly OK to do this.

Sorry, but what do you expect. Anyone in the BP should have to have a security clearance. They should have to go through the same sort of background check that is required in the military.

disgusting, if he isnt fired right now, something is wrong

Originally Posted by jamesw62

disgusting, if he isnt fired right now, something is wrong

He's in jail. A felony conviction gets him removed from the job.
He is presumed innocent until he is found guilty. Then they can fire him.

Originally Posted by MontereySherry

Sorry, but what do you expect. Anyone in the BP should have to have a security clearance. They should have to go through the same sort of background check that is required in the military.

How to Become a Border Patrol Agent—Border Patrol Jobs

If you think that working as a border patrol agent is for you, ... you will also need to pass background checks that will be conducted by the Border Patrol . . . . . .

Know the requirements. Click on the job opening for an American border patrol agent, and you will be led to a page where you will be able to see all of the requirements needed in order for you to be able to work as a border patrol agent. Some of the basic border patrol requirements are age and a good background record that is free from crime and other convictions. Other basic requirements are that you need to be at least below forty years of age.

You also need to be a citizen of the United States of America . . .

http://www.innerbody.com/wordpress3/car ... agent.html

Originally Posted by busygirl

omg. What a disgrace. Makes me wonder if this border patrol agent was doing anything else shady. Since our federal government is lax on immigration he prolly felt that it was perfectly OK to do this.

IT'S NO TELLING JUST HOW MANY TIMES HE LOOKED THE OTHER WAY WHILE ALLOWING HIS ILLEGAL BROTHERS AND SISTERS HAVE A FREE PASS INTO THE U.S.A. JUST LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF HISPANIC BP AGENTS ON THAT BORDER. ITS NO WONDER A LOT OF ILLEGALS ARE ABLE TO GET PAST THE BP.

Border Patrol agent arrested on harboring illegal immigrant charges

One of the people the agent is accused of harboring is his father, a wanted fugitive

By Debbi Baker, Greg Moran and Pauline Repard
Originally published January 11, 2011 at 10:13 a.m., updated January 11, 2011 at 6:21 p.m.

SAN YSIDRO — A U.S. Border Patrol agent was arrested just before midnight Monday at work and charged with harboring illegal immigrants — one of whom is his father, a wanted fugitive.

Federal agents also swarmed a San Ysidro neighborhood early Tuesday as an FBI SWAT team searched the home of Marcos G. Manzano Jr., the 26-year-old Border Patrol agent’s home, looking for his father, Marco G. Manzano Sr., believed to be in the United States illegally, authorities said.

More than a dozen FBI agents, SWAT officers, Border Patrol officers, an evidence team and San Diego police targeted the home on Shooting Star Drive about 6 a.m.

At least one Customs and Border Protection internal affairs official was present.

One Mexican citizen, Jose A. Garrido-Morena, 26, suspected of being in the United States illegally, was arrested at the home.

A federal court complaint unsealed Tuesday alleges that Manzano Jr. harbored his father illegally at his home and lied about it when questioned by another Border Patrol agent.

The complaint said the elder Manzano was seen at his son’s home several times since September 2009.

The younger Manzano was arrested at 11:45 p.m. Monday at the Imperial Beach Border Patrol Station, according to the FBI. Court records indicate he had been under investigation for some time by the Border Corruption Task Force, a multi-agency group that investigates corruption among federal employees on the border.

The older Manzano remains at large, the FBI said. He is described as a 46-year-old Latino who is 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing about 190 pounds, and with black hair and hazel eyes.

The complaint said the senior Manzano was deported in January 2007 and again a year later after being convicted in state court for possession of marijuana for sale.

A probable cause statement attached to that complaint said the agent’s father was spotted in September 2009 at the home on Shooting Star Drive. It also indicates that the home and both Manzanos have been under surveillance since then and were often seen interacting at the home.

In December, a Border Patrol agent recorded a conversation with the younger Manzano, asking if he knew where to find his father, a deported felon. The younger agent allegedly said he knew his father had been deported and denied knowing where he was.

According to a separate federal complaint unsealed Tuesday, Garrido, who has a criminal history, is suspected of entering the country illegally after being removed to Mexico on Oct. 27.

A probable cause statement attached to the complaint said he was spotted on Nov. 24, 2010, by law enforcement agents conducting surveillance of a residence on Monterey Pine in San Ysidro. That is about 1.5 miles from Manzano’s home.

Besides arresting Garrido at the Shooting Star house, authorities detained and questioned another man and three women who were in the house, said Darrell Foxworth, an FBI spokesman. A 6-year-old boy also was in the house.

The arrest of Manzano is the latest in a string of charges levied against federal officials in San Diego and Imperial counties.

In September, Customs and Border Protection Officer Lorne Leslie Jones was charged with smuggling and bribery. Prosecutors said he allowed in loads of drugs and illegal immigrants from 2000 to 2009.

Also in September, Customs and Border Protection Officer Oscar Osbaldo Ortiz Martinez was charged with conspiracy to smuggle drugs and bribery for allowing loads of drugs through the inspection lane he was working in Calexico in June and September.

Two former Border Patrol agents, brothers Raul and Fidel Villarreal, are also in custody awaiting trial after being arrested in 2008 on charges of bribery, money laundering and witness tampering. They are charged with smuggling illegal immigrants into the country.

For most of Tuesday morning, residents were given limited access to the San Ysidro neighborhood south of state Route 905 where the FBI SWAT members and others were conducting their investigation. FBI agents in bulletproof vests combed the Shooting Star house, garage and grounds into the afternoon. The front yard appeared littered with debris, the garage was full of items and several vehicles were parked in front of the house.

One Shooting Star Court resident said it was “scaryâ€

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Border Patrol agent arrested for harboring twice-deported illegal immigrant -- his father

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