Thread: Sailors Arrested in Immigrant Smuggling Case

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Sailors Arrested in Immigrant Smuggling Case

Thursday, February 02, 2006


SAN DIEGO — Two U.S. sailors were arrested on suspicion of helping to smuggle immigrants through a patrol station near the San Ysidro border crossing, according to a Navy spokesman.

The two San Diego-based sailors, both petty officers second class, were scheduled to appear in federal court Thursday, said Scott Sutherland, deputy public affairs officer for Navy Region Southwest in San Diego.

He did not release their names but told the San Diego Union-Tribune that the men were friends. One worked as a military police officer at the shore-patrol station, and the other was assigned to a helicopter squadron at North Island Naval Air Station.

A spokeswoman with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement said agents had taken the men into custody, but wouldn't say when they were arrested and declined additional comment. The shore-patrol building sits adjacent the U.S-Mexico border, about 100 yards from the port of entry.

http://www.fox6.com

Smuggling Sailors


Two sailors accused of smuggling a group of undocumented immigrants through the U.S.-Mexico border at San Ysidro were arraigned Thursday on federal charges.


Antonio Pina, a Master at Arms of the Shore Patrol at San Ysidro, and Jose Guadalupe Hernandez-Valdez, who told authorities he was an active-duty sailor in the Navy, appeared before Magistrate Judge William McCurine.

The judge told each of the defendants they were charged with bringing illegal aliens into the United States for financial gain and aiding and abetting.

He ordered them held without bail pending a hearing Tuesday. A Feb. 16 preliminary hearing date was also scheduled.

According to a probable cause statement attached to the criminal complaint, Pina -- while off-duty -- drove and parked a gold 2002 GMC Envoy at the Old Port building parking lot of the San Ysidro Port of Entry about 11 Tuesday night.

The Old Port building is located 10 feet north of the border and is used for immigration permits, but not as a point of entry.

After Pina entered the building, a special agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement saw a seven-member group travel from Mexico to the west entrance of Old Port, enter and then exit the building, then return to Mexico.

About eight minutes later, the same group, led by Hernandez-Valdez, returned to the west entrance and again entered the port, according to a statement submitted to the court by ICE Special Agent Charles Haskell.

ICE special agents and Customs and Border Protection officers witnessed the group enter the west entrance and exit through the north door of the Old Port building, according to court documents.

The seven individuals then got into a sport utility vehicle that Pina had allegedly parked earlier, with Hernandez-Valdez behind the wheel, Haskell wrote.

Authorities in unmarked government vehicles followed the group north on Interstate 805 and onto eastbound Bonita Road. Just past the intersection of Willow Road, the driver attempted to turn the GMC Envoy around, at which time ICE agents conducted a vehicle stop, court documents state.

According to Haskell's statement, the occupants admitted they were Mexican citizens and Hernandez-Valdez told agents that he was a resident alien of the United States but did not have his identification card, which was expired.

Pina, who was not in the vehicle, was contacted by phone, returned to the Old Port building in San Ysidro and was arrested, according to the ICE special agent.

Pina allegedly admitted that he drove a friend's GMC Envoy to the Old Port building and left the SUV unlocked with the keys inside, and later opened the west entrance to allow Hernandez-Valdez entry without inspection by officers.

Pina also told ICE agents that he was called again by Hernandez-Valdez and opened the door for him a second time, but didn't see anyone with his friend, according to Haskell's statement.

Pina told ICE agents that he knew Hernandez-Valdez was a citizen of Mexico and a resident alien, according to the probable cause statement.

He also allegedly conceded that he was aware of the federal laws and proper inspection procedures for individuals entering the United States, but still allowed his friend to avoid inspection and enter the country illegally.

Pina declared he had no knowledge of the smuggled aliens, yet never stated or acknowledged that his friend allegedly betrayed him, according to Haskell's declaration.

According to the document, Hernandez-Valdez chose not to speak to agents and requested an attorney.

Four of the illegal aliens in the car told authorities they were supposed to pay $3,000 to be smuggled into the United States. Three of them identified Hernandez-Valdez as the person who guided them through the border and drove them into the United States, the probable cause statement alleges.

http://www.signonsandiego.com

Case against 2 sailors detailed


Documents say old port of entry was used to smuggle immigrants
By Onell R. Soto
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 3, 2006

Every year, more than 8 million people walk past the old port of entry building at the San Ysidro border crossing on their way into the United States.

But some recently agreed to pay $3,000 to be smuggled through the historic building, 10 feet north of the Mexican border, investigators said.

That landed two San Diego-based sailors – including one who works in the building – in federal court yesterday, where they appeared on immigrant smuggling charges.

Antonio Piña, 25, and Jose Guadalupe Hernandez Valdez, 34, face five to 10 years in prison if convicted. Both are 2nd-class petty officers and may also face discipline within the Navy.

A judge is scheduled to decide Tuesday whether they should be held without bail, as prosecutor Christina McCall requested. She said both might flee if freed.

Hernandez, a native of Mexico who has an expired green card, is a storekeeper with a helicopter squadron at North Island Naval Air Station, authorities said.

Piña serves as a master-at-arms – a Navy military police officer – and stood guard at the shore-patrol station in the port of entry building, investigators said.

The shore patrol is supposed to look after sailors while they're on leave, and the officers who work at the border crossing keep an eye on sailors who go to Mexico for fun, said a spokesman for Navy Region Southwest in San Diego.

But investigators said in court documents that Piña wasn't on the job when he helped smuggle immigrants.

He was under surveillance shortly after 11 p.m. Tuesday when investigators watched as he parked a gold van in the parking lot north of the building and entered the building, the documents said.

The building, once the port of entry into the United States, now is where Mexicans can apply for immigration permits during business hours.

Agents then watched a group of seven people enter the building through the door that faces the steady stream of cars and pedestrians heading north. The seven, including Hernandez, left through a back door and got into the gold van, the documents said.

Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection followed the van, according to court documents. They stopped it after it exited Interstate 805 at Bonita Road where they detained Hernandez, the driver, and the six passengers, who were illegal immigrants.

Piña was arrested a short time later, according to a criminal complaint filed in court.

He told agents with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service that Hernandez was his friend. He said Hernandez “had some businessâ€