Thread: Hearing in Juárez set for US doctor who found pot in car

Hearing in Juárez set for doctor who found pot in car
by Adriana Gómez Licón \ El Paso Times
Posted: 01/18/2011 12:25:55 AM MST

Dr. Justus Lawrence Opot, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Kenya, is facing federal drug charges in Juárez after allegedly finding 110 pounds of marijuana planted in a co-worker's car and handing it over to police.

Opot, 40, a psychotherapist in El Paso, is in custody at the Cereso prison in Juárez and will appear before a federal judge today for a preliminary hearing.

Attorney Mario Zamora said this is a case of someone planting drugs on Opot and co-worker Marisol Pérez, also a 40-year-old U.S. citizen.

Wednesday morning, Opot was riding to work with Pérez because his vehicle was with a mechanic. She offered him a ride because they both work at the Mental Health Mental Retardation agency in El Paso, Zamora said.

While Pérez was leaving one of her children at school, Opot used the time to place his belongings in her trunk. He noticed suitcases and asked Pérez whether she was going on a trip. She said she was not. Opot then opened the bags and noticed suspicious packages.

"They saw the packages and right away knew it was something bad," Zamora said. "But they did not know it was marijuana until later."

Before opening them, both Opot and Pérez decided to tell federal police agents about their discovery at a checkpoint officers installed near the Bridge of the Americas, Zamora said.

Federal police spokesman José Ramón Salinas said Opot and Pérez approached agents and reported someone had planted drugs in the car.

"We had to present them before the Attorney General's office," Salinas said. "We presented them as witnesses or presumed suspects because, after all, they had the drugs."

A federal judge found the story questionable and decided to book Opot and Pérez in prison until they presented more evidence showing they didn't own the drugs.

MHMR is aware of the charges Opot and Pérez are facing and placed the two employees on paid leave. Spokesman René Hurtado could not confirm the employees' titles or salaries because the agency was closed in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Zamora said he hopes to prove Opot's innocence at today's hearing.

"He was not aware he had drugs," Zamora said. "In fact, when he saw the packages the first thing he did was to let the authorities know."

Zamora said someone planted the drugs knowing Pérez was not going to be inspected at the international bridge because she has documents for express entry into the United States.

He said the case has a precedent.

A University of Texas at El Paso student, who also had express entry, once was about to drive to school when he noticed drugs in his trunk, Zamora said. He alerted the Mexican army. But soldiers detained him and presented him before the Mexican Attorney General. Eventually, a judge acquitted the student of drug charges.

"I hope the judge takes the precedent in consideration," Zamora said.

Meanwhile, Opot's wife mounted a campaign in Juárez to free her husband.

Marisol Arreola, 26, gathered about 30 people on Sunday. They were passing letters of support and asking for signatures to show the judge how many people think his arrest is unfair.

"Justus is arrested and is now being prosecuted for Good Samaritan behavior," Arreola said in the letter. "A great injustice is being done to a law-abiding citizen who only sought the betterment of his community."

Arreola scheduled another protest at 10 a.m. today outside the Mexican Attorney General's offices where the preliminary hearing will take place.

Opot lived in Juárez with Arreola, a Mexican citizen who was applying for U.S. residency so they could both move to El Paso. They met in 2003 and got married in 2008.

Arreola said Opot served in the U.S. Navy around 2000. She said MHMR awarded him twice for being the best employee in the company.

"He is a very honest person," she said. "Many people of goodwill are supporting him."

http://www.elpasotimes.com/juarez/ci_17 ... ost_viewed

UPDATE

Jailed doctor, woman freed from Juarez prison
by Adriana Gómez Licón \ El Paso Times
Posted: 01/21/2011 12:00:00 AM MST

JUAREZ -- Dr. Justus Lawrence Opot is a free man.

Opot, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Kenya, exited Juárez immigration offices Thursday night cleared of the drug charges he had faced after his arrest on Jan. 12.

With a smile on his face, the 40-year-old Opot gave a thumbs up and talked about love before a dozen reporters.

"I have seen the love of Juárez," he said. "I have seen there's still justice in this city."

Federal police arrested Opot and his co-worker Marisol Pérez, 33, also a U.S. citizen, after they turned over to police 110 pounds of marijuana. They told police the drugs were planted in Pérez's vehicle overnight. Police took Opot and Pérez before the Mexican attorney general, and a judge ordered them booked into the Cereso prison.

It all started when Opot was riding with Pérez to work because his car was with a mechanic.

Opot and Pérez live in Juárez and commute to their El Paso jobs at the Mental Health Mental Retardation clinic. Opot is a psychotherapist, and Pérez is a medical records clerk.

When Opot placed his briefcase in Pérez's car trunk the morning of Jan. 12, he noticed two duffel bags there. Inside the bags were aluminum packages placed inside plastic bags. Before verifying what was inside them, the two went to a police checkpoint, where they handed over the bags to officers and told them what had happened.

Pérez's lawyer maintained that someone knew his client had documents for express entry into El Paso and therefore planted the drugs, thinking her vehicle would pass without inspection.

Mexican Judge Alberto Emilio Carmona said Thursday that there was not enough evidence to prosecute Opot and Pérez. The prosecutor could not demonstrate that Opot and Pérez were committing a crime, Carmona said.

"I am very satisfied with the judge's decision," said Mario Zamora, Opot's attorney. "There was justice."

The arrest of Opot provoked controversy in a city plagued with drug-cartel violence, in which 3,112 killings occurred in 2010.

Opot's wife, Marisol Arreola, organized protests in the streets, where people held signs that read, "To report a crime is not a crime."

Opot said all he and Pérez were doing was going to the police to report that someone had planted drugs on them.

"It made me wonder whether to have ethics was a good thing," he said.

But as the case unfolded this week, Opot recovered his faith.

"I started getting confident because the judge was hearing all the stories from the witnesses," he said.

Opot said he had not decided whether he will stay in Juárez or move to El Paso after the nine-day ordeal. He said he had to consult with his wife.

His co-worker Pérez said she was leaving Juárez immediately to protect her 5-year-old daughter.

"Thank God it is all over," Pérez said.

Opot's wife, Marisol, said she was happy to have her husband back home. But she said authorities need to have better ways to report drug crimes in Juárez without incriminating the people who report them.

"It shouldn't have gone this far," she said.

Opot has not lost his faith in Juárez.

"I love this city," he said. "I would still report a crime."

Opot hugged his wife as he joked and laughed with some reporters Thursday at the immigration offices on the Mexican side of the Stanton Street bridge.

Police took him to immigration officials to verify his status in Mexico after releasing him from the Cereso prison Thursday afternoon.

Pérez also had to go through the process.

The first thing Opot was going to do after leaving the immigration office was "eat some tacos," he said.

"I feel a joy I haven't felt in a long time," he said.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_17154569