crime

Meth smuggler receives 5-year prison sentence

One of two suspects accused of trying to transport 22 pounds of methamphetamine through Klamath County received a five-year prison sentence Wednesday.

The other suspect’s sentence, whether it involves prison time or probation, has yet to be determined.

Sandra Guillen-Avila, 39, and Jeronimo Novoa-Leal, 24, were arrested in October 2013 by Oregon State Police (OSP) troopers after a traffic stop on Highway 97.

During a search of the vehicle utilizing an OSP drug detection dog, 22 pounds of crystal meth and $5,000 in cash was found. The illegal narcotic was stashed in several small bags secreted around the vehicle.

Novoa-Leal had apparently hired Guillen-Avila and paid her $1,000 to drive him from Riverside, Calif., to Washington, where the drugs would be sold. Guillen-Avila is listed as a Quincy, Wash., resident, and Novoa-Leal is noted to have lived in Antioch, Calif.

District Attorney Rob Patridge noted during the Wednesday morning sentencing hearing the bust might be one of the largest single methamphetamine seizures on a state highway in recent Klamath Falls history — maybe even across the state.

“It’s really important, I think, we send a message from this case that we will not tolerate this coming into our community,” Patridge said.

The specifics of whether the suspects would receive probation or prison time became a point of contention during the hearing. While both pleaded guilty this summer, how exactly they should be punished was not finalized until the day of sentencing.

Two pre-sentencing investigations were completed for Novoa-Leal, who pleaded guilty to meth possession and delivery July 16. One investigation recommended only probation, while the second recommended a 60-month prison sentence.

The 60-month (five-year) sentence was imposed by Judge Marci Adkisson. It was noted in court Novoa-Leal was in the country illegally and he would be deported to Mexico upon his release from prison.

Adkisson expressed her objections to anything other than prison for the suspects during the hearing.

“I think they’re liars, I think they’re both liars. Both these people are going to the penitentiary,” Adkisson said. “It’s just over the top that we would even consider not punishing this crime.”

Patridge seconded Adkisson’s statement in a press release.

“Judge Adkisson put an exclamation point on the sentencing this morning by telling the defendant that she knew he was lying and chastised him for failing to take responsibility,” Patridge said. “Judge Adkisson and I are on the same page. If you are going to use Oregon to traffick drugs, we’re not just going to turn you around and send you back home to Mexico on a one way ticket ... we are going to hold you accountable and send you to jail here in Oregon to pay the price for the crimes you have committed while illegally in the United States and here in Oregon.”

The judge did agree to postpone sentencing Guillen-Avila so her defense attorney could present more evidence on her character and her actual involvement in the incident.

Guillen-Avila pleaded guilty to meth possession and delivery, as well as possession of a forged instrument, in July.

“I do not believe she was an innocent victim here,” Adkisson said, allowing her sentencing hearing date to be set for 3 p.m. Oct. 23.

Patridge, in an interview after the hearing, said the street value of the methamphetamine located within the vehicle was more than $1.1 million. He noted, “These are definitely cartel-related drugs.” Read more about Meth smuggler receives 5-year prison sentence

Sheriff and State Advisor Border Summits

The Sheriff and State Advisor Border Summits were held consecutively on 11-12 and 12-13 September in El Paso, Texas.

State Representative Sal Esquivel, Morrow County Sheriff Ken Matlack and OFIR President Cynthia Kendoll represented Oregon at the conference.

Read a full report of the event.

Visit the OFIR photo gallery, as well. Read more about Sheriff and State Advisor Border Summits

Cops Searching for Teenage Illegal Alien for Cartel Assassination Attempt in Texas

LUBBOCK, Texas -- Cops are on the hunt for a previously deported 14-year-old illegal alien suspected of trying to execute a teenaged human smuggler on the Texas border in an apparent cartel hit. The victim in the case had a lengthy criminal history that had already resulted in two deaths.

While details remain unknown....

...Breitbart Texas has learned that the teenager has a lengthy criminal history that includes several human smuggling arrests and deportations. In October, 2012 the victim drove a red Ford pickup filled with illegal aliens as he tried to elude authorities. The pursuit ended near the border town of La Joya when a Texas State Trooper in a helicopter fired several shots at the truck eventually blowing out its tires. The bullets struck three illegal aliens from Guatemala killing two of them. Since the shooting, DPS has changed its use of force policies.

Authorities have developed a person of interest in the case, however Breitbart Texas has learned that a possible suspect is a 14-year-old male who had been previously been arrested and charged in juvenile court and had been deported three weeks ago. Law enforcement sources have confirmed to Breitbart Texas that one of the leads that investigators are looking at is a possible cartel hit. Read more about Cops Searching for Teenage Illegal Alien for Cartel Assassination Attempt in Texas

Could we please stop the insanity?

Just when I think another illegal immigration insanity story won't surprise me, a news report like this is published.

I'll walk through this article and touch on the painful, high pitched points for those that may not "get it" at a glance.  Here goes:

Francisco Aguirre (an illegal alien), from El Salvador, took refuge Friday in a Northeast Portland church after he said federal immigration agents went to his home to detain him...

"I've been a leader in this community for so many years," Aguirre said. "I'm part of this community, and this is where I belong (no - he belongs in El Salvador). This is where I want to stay" (too bad).

Aguirre was deported to El Salvador in 2000 after a conviction for drug trafficking offenses.... (a real LEADER in this community - a drug dealer?), 

Aguirre came to the agency's attention again in August after he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence (again, a real swell guy) in Clackamas County, ICE said.

Aguirre said he applied earlier this year for a U Visa ... The visa provides legal status to victims of certain crimes who help authorities investigate crimes (does that include the crimes HE commits?), according the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Office.

He acknowledged that he was deported 14 years ago...(and he should be deported AGAIN after serving time in prison for re-entering the country illegally)

Aguirre was involved in the Workers' Organizing Committee that went on to found Voz Workers' Rights Education Project, nonprofit organization that mostly helps male Latino (illegal?) immigrants find work in Portland (So, he helps other illegal? immigrants find work in Portland - it's against the law for an illegal alien to work in the US). He currently serves as the MLK Jr. Worker Center coordinator for the group.

Churches elsewhere in the country have been offering sanctuary (is this the intended use of your tithe contributions?) to illegal immigrants after President Barack Obama announced that he wouldn't take any executive action on immigration legislation until after the November election.

ICE agents do not make arrests in sensitive locations such as schools and churches (how handy), said Andrew S. Muñoz, a public affairs officer for ICE.

Aguirre, a father of three, said he plans to stay at the church for as "long as it takes."

"We all make mistakes," he said. "We all have the right to fix those mistakes."

(Let's review - Aguirre entered the country illegally, trafficked drugs, was deported, re-entered the country illegally, helps illegal aliens work illegally, is arrested on suspicion of DUI and claims "we all make mistakes and have the right to fix those mistakes."  When is he going to start?  Is he fixing them now - while hiding out in a church because he won't face up to the mistakes he has made already?)

Wow - what a guy - a real pillar of the community.  Let's keep him!  Better yet - let's CROWN him King!  I'm certain he thinks he's entitled to the title! Read more about Could we please stop the insanity?

Portland activist seeks asylum in church to avoid deportation

Francisco Aguirre, a local labor activist originally from El Salvador, took refuge Friday in a Northeast Portland church...

"I've been a leader in this community for so many years," Aguirre said. "I'm part of this community, and this is where I belong. This is where I want to stay."

Aguirre was deported to El Salvador in 2000 after a conviction for drug trafficking offenses, ICE said in a statement. Aguirre came to the agency's attention again in August after he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence...

He acknowledged that he was deported 14 years ago, but declined to comment further..

Aguirre was involved in the Workers' Organizing Committee that went on to found Voz Workers' Rights Education Project, nonprofit organization that mostly helps male Latino immigrants find work in Portland. He currently serves as the MLK Jr. Worker Center coordinator for the group.

Churches elsewhere in the country have been offering sanctuary to illegal immigrants...

ICE agents do not make arrests in sensitive locations...

Aguirre, a father of three, said he plans to stay at the church for as "long as it takes."

"We all make mistakes," he said. "We all have the right to fix those mistakes."

  Read more about Portland activist seeks asylum in church to avoid deportation

Utah hotel settles case with immigration officials

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — An upscale hotel chain has agreed to pay about $2 million to settle allegations that 43 Utah employees working in the country illegally had returned to work after they were flagged by an immigration audit and fired, according to federal authorities...

...43 workers returned to their jobs within days using false names and documents...

The employees were hired before the hotel used the federal E-Verify system to check the eligibility of its workers, authorities said.

The U.S. attorney's office said that while the hotel and its executives helped investigators, the hotel is paying a fine because the employees involved in the scheme were acting on the hotel's behalf.

The hotel chain will pay nearly $2 million to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and spend another $500,000 to adopt new hiring policies, such as retraining corporate lawyers on immigration practices and retooling labor contracts.

"All industries, regardless of size, location and type are expected to comply with the law," said Kumar Kibble, a Denver-based Homeland Security agent overseeing Utah investigations. "As this significant settlement demonstrates, there are real consequences for businesses that employ an illegal workforce."

  Read more about Utah hotel settles case with immigration officials

Oregonians are affected by criminal invasion

The current ongoing immigration surge, call it an invasion, across the United States of America’s border with Mexico by persons who have illegally entered the country is really old news revisited to those who have been victimized of foreign national criminals in Oregon.

An unpublished July 1, 2014 report from the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) indicated there were 1,099 foreign nationals (criminal aliens) incarcerated in the state’s prison system...

What follows is a list of 15 Oregon counties whose County Circuit Courts adjudicated cases that sent the most criminal aliens (95.4 percent) to serve time in DOC prisons:

- 267 Multnomah, 24.3 percent of alien prisoners;
- 264 Marion, 24.0 percent of alien prisoners;
- 186 Washington, 16.9 percent of alien prisoners;
- 76 Clackamas, 6.9 percent of alien prisoners;
- 57 Lane, 5.2 percent of alien prisoners...

The types of crimes, the level of violence, being committed by aliens who have illegally entered the country against the state’s residents are the type crimes one might read about in an international newspaper or view on a television news program covering Mexico or third-world counties located in Central and South America or the Caribbean.

Here is how the 1,099 criminal aliens currently in the DOC prison population violently, brutally and mercilessly victimized the residents of this state:

- 199 sex abuses, 18.1 percent of alien crimes;
- 172 rapes, 15.6 percent of alien crimes;
- 161 drugs, 14.6 percent of alien crimes;
- 145 homicides, 13.2 percent of alien crimes;
- 103 assaults, 9.4 percent of alien crimes;
- 93 sodomies, 8.5 percent of alien crimes;
- 68 robberies, 6.2 percent of alien crimes;
- 44 kidnappings, 4.0 percent of alien crimes...

Focusing on the Americas and Caribbean, 976 of the 1,099 criminal aliens (88.8 percent) in the DOC prison system self-declared their citizenship from the following nations:

- 884 Mexico, 80.4 percent of prisoners;
- 34 Guatemala, 3.1 percent of prisoners;
- 15 El Salvador, 1.4 percent of prisoners;
- 11 Honduras, 1.0 percent of prisoners;
- 11 Cuba, 1.0 percent of prisoners...

Another element of foreign national crime that has affected the residents of this state is the cost to incarcerate criminal aliens in the state’s prisons; 1,099 alien prisoners cost the state’s taxpayers $34,930,835.80 per year.

Unfortunately for Oregonians, this seemingly unchecked wave of foreign national crime and violence has gone on in the state under watch of recalcitrant Washington D.C. politicians like Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden along with Representatives Earl Blumenauer, Suzanne Bonamici, Kurt Schrader, Peter DeFazio and Greg Walden; politicians whose political parties during their elected tenure in office at one time controlled all three elected branches of government (The Presidency, The Senate and The House of Representatives).

These congressional representatives have done nothing legislatively that has been passed and signed into law by President Barack Obama to stop the invasion of criminal aliens preying on the residents of this state.

With leadership comes responsibility, they as a collective group of law makers, it would be fair to say, have the blood of those victimized by alien criminals on their hands.

Oregon’s registered voters during Oregon’s November 4, 2014 General Election will have a chance to replace six of the seven politicians who have failed to protect citizens and resident aliens from the invasion of foreign national criminals, only Senator Wyden is immune from the voters’ wrath during this election cycle.

Along with the possibility of replacing their congressional representation, voters in the state will also have the unique opportunity in the fall to show their members of congress leadership on immigration legislation by voting “No” on Measure 88; legislation that would grant Driver Cards for those who cannot prove legal presence in the United States; legislation if it were to pass that could send a new wave of foreign national criminals into the state.

David Olen Cross of Salem writes on immigration issues and foreign national crime. He can be reached at docfnc@yahoo.com. Read more about Oregonians are affected by criminal invasion

Big illegal marijuana garden busted in forest outside Ashland

Federal authorities and local police have snuffed out a roughly 5,000-plant marijuana grow about six miles south of Ashland in the Neil Creek drainage.

A U.S. Forest Service employee discovered the massive growing operation while hunting in January, according to a complaint filed Aug. 25 in the U.S. District Court of Medford.

Humberto Salgado-Salgado, 36, and Juan Albert Lopez-Moroyoqui, 50, two alleged illegal immigrants from Mexico, were arrested at the grow site when the Jackson County Sheriff's Department SWAT team raided the area on Aug. 18, the complaint states.

Forest Service Special Agent Robert D. Caruthers Jr. led the investigation and filed the complaint.

In the complaint, he said the site appeared to be a "Mexican style Drug Trade Organization grow."

While investigating the area in January, Caruthers found a marijuana drying area, a well-developed campsite, several terraced areas with plant holes, drip irrigation lines, open fertilizer bags and a garbage pit, the complaint states. He also recovered dried marijuana plants with attached buds, the complaint states.

From May until the August raid, Caruthers and county authorities kept tabs on the site, observing as people moved in and its plants grew and matured to about five feet tall, the complaint states.

The site is believed to have been in use since at least 2012, the complaint states.

While observing the site between May and the raid, Caruthers said he saw who he believes was Salgado-Salgado and Lopez-Moroyoqui dressed in camouflage tending to plants at the grow site, the complaint states.

According to an indictment filed Thursday in U.S. District Court of Medford, both men have been charged with conspiracy to manufacture marijuana and manufacturing marijuana.

Lopez-Moroyoqui has also been charged with being an illegal immigrant, having returned to the United States after being deported following a drug-related conviction, according to a press release from the Oregon Department of Justice.

Salgado-Salgado told Caruthers he was from Morelos, Mexico, and that the men had been living at the grow site for about three and a half months after having been transported there from Santa Rosa, Calif., by a person in a van, the complaint states.

"They had been given marijuana seeds in a bag and were initially walked into the grow site location," the complaint states.

Salgado-Salgado told Caruthers the men were expecting to get about a third of the value of the harvested marijuana, the complaint states.

The men are scheduled to be arraigned next week in U.S. District Court in Medford, court records show. Read more about Big illegal marijuana garden busted in forest outside Ashland

At what cost? OFIR endorser challenges the President to visit his sons grave

A U.S. citizen, a husband and a grief stricken father demands the President of the United States visit his son's grave in hopes the President will finally see the consequences of his horrific immigration policies.  Read the entire article. Read more about At what cost? OFIR endorser challenges the President to visit his sons grave

Man guilty of delivering heroin that killed Keizer woman

A 35-year-old man pleaded guilty to the delivery of heroin that resulted in the death of a 21-year-old Laurin Putnam, of Keizer.

Sergio Quezada-Lopez, of Mexico, appeared before a U.S. District Judge Monday and entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute heroin that resulted in death, according to the Department of Justice.

Quezada-Lopez is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 1. The maximum sentence is life in prison and there is a mandatory minimum of 20 years.

Putnam's father Ron said after his daughter's death that he would see things through until the end. Now he is one step closer.

"I'm glad to see that it's finally coming to fruition," Ron Putnam said.

The investigation into Putnam's death began in April 2012 when police officers found her dead inside her Keizer residence. The Oregon State Medical Examiner confirmed her death was caused by a heroin overdose.

In the four days following her death, officials made a number of arrests and held searches in Marion, Washington and Multnomah counties, and Vancouver, Wash.

An investigation allowed authorities to identify the final suspect in the distribution chain. From there, investigators continued to identify people involved and eventually moved six levels up through the chain of distributors to Quezada-Lopez, the DOJ said.

He is charged with large-scale conspiracy regarding distribution of heroin in Oregon, Washington, Colorado and Nevada. He was in charge of a network of houses in Portland and Vancouver, Wash. that were used to stash drugs and received orders for heroin, then direct its delivery.

Others involved in the conspiracy collected payments in cash and then transferred money to Quezada-Lopez, the DOJ said.

When officials searched the house, they found large quantities of heroin, along with methamphetamine and cocaine. They also found documentation, drug ledgers, weapons, packaging material and $20,000. In one location, a drug ledger contained Quezada-Lopez's fingerprints and a document had his picture. Officers listened to a phone conversation in which he described an amount of heroin to be delivered.

He was arrested April 20, 2012, less than a week after Putnam died.

Also arrested around the same time as Quezada-Lopez were Braulio Acosta Mendoza, Jose Romo Gonzalez, Jose Aldan Soto and Julian Hernandez Castillo.

Court records during early proceedings of the defendants said that the operation "yielded a yearly gross profit of over one hundred thousand dollars."

"It's nice to get some closure. I do feel a sense of relief that things are finally starting to falling in"to place," Ron Putnam said. "Ultimately I'll never have her back."

The Drug Enforcement Administration led the investigation, mainly through its Salem task force, along with Salem and Keizer police departments, the Marion County Sheriff's Office, Oregon State Police and other agencies around Oregon and Washington. Read more about Man guilty of delivering heroin that killed Keizer woman

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