Thread: Man, 18, arrested; 48 entrants at home

Published: 04.28.2007

Man, 18, arrested; 48 entrants at home
By Dale Quinn
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Reports of a violent kidnapping led to the arrest of a Tucson man after dozens of illegal entrants were found on his family's property, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman said Friday.
Rito Najera, 18, was apprehended by authorities Thursday after deputies found 48 illegal entrants on a property about 10 miles south of Downtown, said Lori Haley, the spokeswoman. Najera was arrested on suspicion of human smuggling, Haley said.
Sheriff's deputies found the entrants after Najera's mother called 911 Thursday morning and said her husband, Najera's father, had been shot and kidnapped, said Deputy Dawn Barkman, a Pima County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman.
The illegal entrants were 42 men, three teenage boys and three women, Haley said. All are Mexican citizens, she said.
The entrants told authorities they hadn't had food or water for days, but Haley said that may have been during their trek across the desert. "They had only been there for a few hours," she said. Immigration officials "didn't find any horrendous conditions in or around the house."
Haley said the group likely arrived at the property about 5 in the morning.
Barkman initially said 45 to 50 illegal entrants were found on the property, and U.S. Border Patrol Spokesman Gustavo Soto said Thursday that 41 entrants had been apprehended.
Najera's mother called 911 Thursday morning after her husband, also named Rito Najera, was forced into a black Lincoln Navigator, Barkman said. Deputies have not found the man or the car. When deputies arrived at the property, near South Nogales Highway and East Summit Street, they found a trail of blood leading to a gate next to a dirt road.
● Contact reporter Dale Quinn at 629-9412 or dquinn@azstarnet.com.
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/printDS/180545

Comments being left after the story at the link.
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Call for help leads to arrest
By Dale Quinn
arizona daily star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 05.02.2007
advertisementA woman who reported a violent kidnapping last week was arrested by federal agents Tuesday after authorities found dozens of illegal entrants on her South Side property, officials said.
Mary Lovina Najera, 38, was arrested for her suspected role in harboring 48 illegal entrants, said Lori Haley, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman.
Pima County sheriff's deputies found the entrants after Najera called 911 about 7:10 a.m. Thursday, saying her husband had been shot and kidnapped, said Deputy Dawn Barkman, a Sheriff's Department spokeswoman.
When deputies went to her home in the 10400 block of South Epperson Lane, near South Old Nogales Highway and East Summit Street, Najera told them she saw her husband fighting with someone on their property.
She tried to intervene and her husband broke free and ran to the back of the property, where he was shot and forced into a sport utility vehicle, according to court documents.
Deputies found a trail of blood leading from a tree on the property to a gate next to a dirt road. They stumbled on the 48 illegal entrants as they surveyed the back of the property.
Najera's husband, Rito Najera, 43, is still missing, said Detective Sgt. Jesus Lopez with the Sheriff's Department robbery and assault unit.
Investigators are looking into whether the family's involvement in human smuggling led to the kidnapping, he said, but they haven't determined a motive.
Mary Najera told investigators Rito's mother, who lives in Guadalajara, Mexico, had called her on Friday or Saturday, Lopez said. Otherwise there's been no word from Rito Najera, and investigators have no information about his whereabouts.
The Najeras' son, Rito Najera, 19, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of human smuggling, Haley said.
Detectives searched the Najeras' property on Thursday afternoon and uncovered evidence that the family was involved in human smuggling, Barkman said.
According to court documents, detectives seized fire-arms, ledgers, paperwork and evidence of Western Union money transfers.

http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/181140

what a total scumbag.

The Najera's sound like a real nice family and a sure asset to America.

For some crazy reason, one of our local papers won't print the name of the kidnap victim, "because he's a victim." This is after all other media has used it. I keep puting his name in their blog every time they say they won't use it!

Originally Posted by mapwife

For some crazy reason, one of our local papers won't print the name of the kidnap victim, "because he's a victim." This is after all other media has used it. I keep puting his name in their blog every time they say they won't use it!

Yeah I know but it's a matter of policy that they won't print victims names. This is generally in place for rape victims, this paper applies the rule to victims of all crimes.