Thread: More Hard Working wonderful Family Folks

Officers nab drug suspect after night on lam

By RENA DELBRIDGE
Star-Tribune correspondent
DOUGLAS n An alleged drug runner found out the hard way that while you can run, you can’t hide -- the law catches up sooner or later.

A 35-year-old man fled from Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers when they located a compartment concealing more than $1 million worth of cocaine and heroin Tuesday night, the patrol says. After what was presumably a long, cold, uncomfortable night in rugged terrain south of Douglas, Tadeo Loaiza-Aispuro of Mexico was arrested.

At about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Trooper Joe Ryle stopped a 2000 Ford Explorer for running 78 in a 75 mph zone about six miles south of Douglas on Interstate 25. The driver couldn’t speak English, Ryle said. A query to Immigration and Customs Enforcement revealed Loaiza-Aispuro was an undocumented alien.

After issuing a warning for speeding, Ryle circled the Explorer with his drug dog, Duke, while waiting for the query. Duke alerted to a likelihood of drugs, and Ryle called Lt. Nathan Hughes for backup.

The troopers found a false compartment about 2 feet deep welded between the rear fender wells. Inside, smeared with grease and laundry detergent to drug dogs, was more than 25 pounds of cocaine and about 142 grams of heroin, according to the patrol.

The cocaine has a street value of $1.16 million, while the heroin is worth $12,780.

Up until that point, the driver “was not nervous at all,” Ryle said. “He was confident we wouldn’t find that compartment.” But once troopers located the drugs, the suspect ran.

“When he knew we found the compartment, he took off on foot,” Ryle said. “He took off running and lost his sandals -- he just ran right out of them.”

Even out on Wyoming highways, troopers can’t handcuff or otherwise restrain someone while they search a vehicle, unless probable cause for an arrest is found. Often, it’s the search that nets probable cause, Highway Patrol Sgt. Stephen Townsend said.

“At that point he (Loaiza-Aispuro) wasn’t under arrest, so he was standing outside of the car and apparently got a little nervous,” Townsend said.

The man vanished into the rugged countryside, barefoot. Ryle remained with the vehicles while Hughes drove down the interstate, watching for the suspect. The Douglas Volunteer Fire Department provided night-vision goggles for a brief, but fruitless, search.

Early Wednesday, a “good Samaritan” picked up Loaiza-Aispuro about 10 miles south of Douglas near Orin Junction, according to the patrol. The citizen headed to the Douglas hospital with the man, whose feet were cut and bleeding from his barefoot night in the sagebrush. After the citizen called the hospital to say he was bringing in an injured person, the hospital called the Douglas Police Department. Officers stopped the vehicle in Douglas and arrested Loaiza-Aispuro.

He is being held at the Converse County Detention Center while charges are pending. The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

The suspect was en route from Los Angeles to Milwaukee, Wis., Ryle said. In most cases, such a large volume of drugs is typically just passing through Wyoming, Townsend said.

“We are seeing it more and more now (in Douglas),” Ryle said. “The troopers down on I-80 have done such a great job, the drug traffickers are finding alternate routes.”

Typically, if a trooper finds 2 pounds of meth, it’s probably headed to Casper, Ryle said. If he finds 20 pounds, it’s likely headed to Chicago or another large city. Townsend concurred, adding that 25 pounds of cocaine is an unusual find for the patrol. Such quantities are caught maybe once a year, he said.

In an apparently unrelated drug bust May 19, five people were arrested for attempting to distribute 16 pounds of crystal meth in Wyoming, with arrests made in Riverton and Wheatland. Like Loaiza-Aispuro, three of the five face immigration violations.

Must be one of those jobs, an American won't do

Duke did his job.

Must be those family values George Bush keeps speaking of