ICE

ROSEBURG — Two men were arrested Saturday afternoon after a state police trooper found large amounts of methamphetamine and heroin hidden in their pickup.

The drugs were discovered after a trooper stopped a northbound 1998 GMC Sierra for an unspecified traffic violation on Interstate 5 about eight miles south of Roseburg.

After identifying the truck’s occupants, troopers conducted an investigation that led them to find about 3½ pounds of methamphetamine and 1 pound of heroin concealed in the vehicle, police said.

The drugs’ estimated street value is $66,000, police said.

The truck’s driver is identified as Feliciano Ayala-Cardenas, 31, of San Jose, Calif. The passenger is identified as Sergio Gustazo Pineda-Villanueva, 23, of Aloha.

Both men were lodged in the Douglas County Jail on charges of unlawful possession and delivery of heroin and methamphetamine. Both men also face federal immigration charges, police said.

On Sunday night, state troopers seized 16 pounds of marijuana from a vehicle that had been stopped for a traffic violation while traveling north along I-5 just a few miles from where Saturday’s traffic stop occurred. Three Washington residents were cited and released on drug charges in the marijuana case, police said.

http://www.registerguard.com/web/updates/29161839-55/police-charges-heroin-traffic-methamphetamine.html.csp

OSP Traffic Stop Leads to Arrest of Two Men, Seizure of Over 3 lbs of Meth, 1 lb of Heroin - Interstate 5 south of Roseburg (Photos)
Oregon State Police - 12/10/12

Two men were arrested Saturday afternoon during an Oregon State Police (OSP) traffic stop on Interstate 5 about eight miles south of Roseburg after the trooper discovered over 3 pounds of methamphetamine and a pound of heroin concealed in their vehicle.

On December 8, 2012 at approximately 2:30 p.m., an OSP trooper stopped a 1998 GMC Sierra two-door displaying Oregon license plates northbound on Interstate 5 near milepost 115 for a traffic violation. The vehicle was occupied by two men identified as driver FELICIANO AYALA-CARDENAS, age 31, from San Jose, California, and passenger SERGIO GUSTAZO PINEDA-VILLANUEVA, age 23, from Aloha, Oregon.

Subsequent investigation during the traffic stop led to the discovery and seizure of approximately 3 1/2 lbs. of methamphetamine and one lb. of heroin concealed in the vehicle. Estimated value of the seized drugs is $66,000.

Both men were taken into custody without incident and lodged in the Douglas County Jail for Unlawful Possession and Delivery of a Controlled Substance - Methamphetamine and Unlawful Possession and Delivery of a Controlled Substance - Heroin. Douglas County Jail records also reflect both men have ICE holds. Read more about Police stop pickup, find meth and heroin

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Martin Moreno roughed up his ex-girlfriend like an “animal" until police arrested him at gunpoint, according to a witness. Juan Flores bashed a man in the head with a beer bottle, producing a wound that required 25 stitches. And Francisco Gomez twice punched a 2-year-old with his closed fist — hard enough to trigger a brain hemorrhage.

All three were in this country illegally and could have been deported under federal law if Santa Clara County had been willing to hold them for immigration agents. Instead, they were treated like U.S. citizens and released either on probation or on bail under a county policy that effectively bars all immigration “holds." Since then, they’ve thumbed their noses at the criminal justice system and gone on the lam.

Armed with disturbing examples like these, District Attorney Jeff Rosen is urging the county board of supervisors to rescind one of the nation’s most lenient immigration policies. Rosen contends the year-old county policy unnecessarily endangers the community by allowing illegal immigrants with a history of violent or serious crimes to be released rather than held for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE.

The county’s policy must change, Rosen argues, “to protect public safety, protect taxpayer’s dollars and protect victims’ rights."

Tinkering with immigration policy is a touchy matter in a county where one in four residents was born in a foreign country. Staunch advocates of the county policy, including ambitious local politicians and some defense attorneys, argue that engaging local authorities in immigration enforcement undermines immigrant communities’ trust in the police, making people afraid to report crimes as a witness or even a victim. They also point to abuses of authority by ICE and note that many defendants were brought to the U.S. when they were young children and have deep roots here.

But the prospects for at least tweaking the policy are greater now that its main proponent, Supervisor George Shirakawa, is under heavy fire for charging thousands of dollars of questionable expenses on his taxpayer- funded credit card.

The board of supervisors is expected to vote whether to change the policy early next year, after a group of law enforcement officials, including Rosen, Acting Public Defender Molly O’Neal and Sheriff Laurie Smith, recommends a course of action. Smith supports honoring ICE detention requests for illegal immigrants with a history of violent or serious crimes; O’Neal is open to discussing the issue but has concerns.

The issue exploded last year when Santa Clara County became only the second jurisdiction in the nation after Chicago’s Cook County to release illegal immigrants with a history of committing serious or violent crimes onto the streets. Read more about California prosecutor wants his county to change policy on illegal immigrants

What follows is information taken from the Marion County Sheriff / Marion County Correctional Facility (MCCF) website for Inmate / Offender Information, Full Jail Inmate Roster, relating to the number of MCCF prisoners the United States (U.S.) Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has identified as possibly being in the county illegally, U.S. DHS–ICE prisoners charged with drug crimes, and the approximate incarceration cost to Marion County to house its U.S. DHS–ICE jail population.

Total MCCF Inmates: 407

   Total MCCF Inmates with ICE Hold: 36

   Percent MCCF Inmates with ICE Hold: 8.84%

Total MCCF Inmates with ICE Hold POS/DEL METH: 3

Percent MCCF Inmates with ICE Hold POS/DEL METH: 8.33%

Total MCCF Inmates with ICE Hold POS/DEL HERION: 4

Percent MCCF Inmates with ICE Hold POS/DEL HERION: 11.11%

Total MCCF Inmates with ICE Hold POS/DEL COCAINE: 1

Percent MCCF Inmates with ICE Hold POS/DEL COCAINE: 2.78%

Total MCCF Inmates with ICE Hold POS/DEL MARIJUANA: 0

Percent MCCF Inmates with ICE Hold POS/DEL MARIJUANA: 0.00%

MCCF Incarceration Cost Per Inmate Per Day: $107.74

MCCF Incarceration Cost Per Day of 36 Inmates with ICE Holds: $3,878.64

MCCF Incarceration Cost Per Week of 36 Inmates with ICE Holds: $27,150.48

   MCCF Incarceration Cost Per Year of 36 Inmates with ICE Holds: $1,415,703.60

For the eleven months of 2012, the MCCF has averaged 42.09 criminal aliens per day at the jail.
  Read more about Marion County Corrections Facility Inmate Roster INS Holds

Federal and local drug investigators arrested a Washington man traveling on a commercial bus through Medford and seized a pound of crystal methamphetamine in his luggage.

The bus was headed north to Washington on Tuesday when U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations agents and the Medford Area Drug and Gang Enforcement team arrested Saul Temaj-Lopez, 28, of Aberdeen, Wash., officials said in a news release today.

Investigators had received a tip that a passenger was carrying drugs, the release said. Their investigation found about a pound of meth.

Temaj-Lopez was arrested on charges of delivery and possession of methamphetamine and suspicion of being in the country illegally. He remains lodged in the Jackson County Jail without bail.

Saul Temaj-Lopez - ICE hold Read more about Bus passenger arrested when investigators find pound of meth

According to the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) Inmate Population Profile dated October 1, 2012 DOC indicated there were 14,234 prisoners incarcerated in DOC’s 14 prisons.

Not included in DOC’s October 1st Inmate Population Profile was DOC data indicating there were 1,242 foreign nationals (criminal aliens) incarcerated in its prison system.

All 1,242 criminal aliens incarcerated on October 1st by DOC had United States (U.S.) Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), detainers. The U.S. DHS–ICE is responsible for indentifying whether a DOC inmate is a criminal alien or a domestic inmate. If an inmate is identified as being a criminal alien, at U.S. DHS–ICE’s request, the DOC places an “ICE detainer” on the inmate that directs DOC officials to transfer custody to ICE following completion of the inmate’s state sanction.

Criminal aliens made up approximately 8.72% of the DOC October 1st prison population.

Comparing DOC criminal alien incarceration numbers from October 1, 2007 (985 criminal aliens) and October 1, 2012 (1,242 criminal aliens), the DOC prison system incarcerated 257 criminal aliens more than it did on October 1, 2007, a 26.09% increase.

A review of the 1,242 criminal aliens in DOC prisons by number per county and percentage (%) per county equated to the following: 0-Baker (0.00%), 14-Benton (1.13%), 91-Clackamas (7.33%), 7-Clatsop (0.56%), 2-Columbia (0.16%), 8-Coos (0.64%), 3-Crook (0.24%), 0-Curry (0.00%), 19-Deschutes (1.53%), 5-Douglas (0.40%), 1-Gilliam (0.08%), 0-Grant (0.00%), 2-Harney (0.24%), 7-Hood River (0.56%), 50-Jackson (4.02%), 12-Jefferson (0.97%), 7-Josephine (0.56%), 11-Klamath (0.88%), 0-Lake (0.00), 67-Lane (5.39%), 8-Lincoln (0.64%), 29-Linn (2.33%), 11-Malheur (0.88%), 282-Marion (22.70%), 7-Morrow (0.56%), 286-Multnomah (23.03%), 1-OOS (0.08%), 19-Polk (1.53%), 0-Sherman (0.00%), 3-Tillamook (0.24%), 21-Umatilla (1.69%), 2-Union (0.16), 0-Wallowa (0.00%), 4-Wasco (0.32%), 229-Washington (18.44%), 0-Wheeler (0.00%), and 34-Yamhill (2.74%).

Your listeners should be aware the types of crime committed against their fellow Oregonians by the 1,242 criminal aliens.

A review of the 1,242 criminal aliens in the DOC prison population by numbers per crime and percentage (%) per crime equated to the following: 4-arsons (0.32%), 129-assaults (10.39%), 28-burglaries (2.25%), 28-driving offenses (2.25%), 175-drugs (14.09%), 1-escape (0.08%), 4-forgeries (0.32%), 153-homicides (12.32%), 50-kidnappings (4.02%), 71-others (5.72%), 175-rapes (14.09%), 79-robberies (6.36%), 233-sex abuses (18.76%), 93-sodomies (7.49%), 12-thefts (0.97%), and 7-vehicle thefts (0.56%).

Lars Larson Show listeners should also be aware of the source of the preceding crimes, the country of origin of the 1,242 criminal aliens in DOC prisons.

The self-declared counties of origin of the 1,242 criminal aliens in the DOC prison population by numbers and percentage (%) per country equated to the following: 8-Canada (0.64%), 11-Cuba (0.88%), 17-El Salvador (1.37%), 31-Guatemala (2.49%), 12-Honduras (0.97%), 8-Laos (0.64%), 1,018-Mexico (81.96%), 99-others (7.97%), 6-Russia (0.48%), 14-Ukraine (1.13%), and 18-Vietnam (1.45%).

Beyond the DOC criminal alien incarceration numbers and incarceration percentages, per county and per crime type, or even country of origin, criminal aliens pose high economic cost on Oregonians.

An individual prisoner in the DOC prison system costs approximately ($84.81) per day to incarcerate.

The DOC’s incarceration cost for its 1,242 criminal alien prison population is approximately ($105,334.02) per day, ($737,338.14) per week, and ($38,446,917.30) per year.

None of the preceding cost estimates for the DOC to incarcerate the 1,242 criminal aliens include the dollar amount for legal services (indigent defense), court costs, nor cost estimates to cover victim assistance.

An unfortunate fact, the State of Oregon is not fully cooperating with the U.S. DHS–ICE to fight crime committed by criminal aliens who reside in Oregon.

In year 2007, a United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) report titled “Cooperation of SCAAP (State Criminal Alien Assistance Program) Recipients in the Removal of Criminal Aliens from the United States, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Inspector General Audit Division, Audit Report 07-07, October 2007, Redacted-Public Version” identified the State of Oregon as having an official “state sanctuary statute,” ORS 181.850 Enforcement of federal immigration laws.

The USDOJ, the federal governments top law enforcement agency, identified Oregon as a “sanctuary” for criminal aliens.

The State of Oregon should no longer be classified by U.S. federal government law enforcement as having an official “state sanctuary statute” for criminal aliens, nor should Oregon be a sanctuary for criminal aliens to kill, rape, or maim Oregonians.

Report by David Olen Cross, for delivery on the Lars Larson Show, Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012. Read more about Criminal Aliens in State Prisons as of Oct. 1, 2012

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A senior U.S. official says there is strong circumstantial evidence that Mexican federal police who fired on a U.S. Embassy vehicle, wounding two CIA officers, were working for organized crime in a targeted assassination attempt.

Meanwhile, a Mexican official with knowledge of the case confirmed on Tuesday that prosecutors are investigating whether the Beltran Leyva Cartel was behind the Aug. 24 ambush.

The Mexican official said that is among several lines of investigation into the shooting of an armored SUV that was clearly marked with diplomatic license plates on a rural road near Cuernavaca south of Mexico City. Federal police, at times battered by allegations of infiltration and corruption by drug cartels, have said the shooting was a case of mistaken identity as officers were looking into the kidnapping of a government employee in that area.

"That's not a 'We're trying to shake down a couple people for a traffic violation sort of operation. That's a 'We are specifically trying to kill the people in this vehicle'," a U.S. official familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press. "This is not a 'Whoops, we got the wrong people.' "

Photos of the gray Toyota SUV, a model known to be used by Drug Enforcement Administration agents and other U.S. Embassy employees working in Mexico, showed it riddled with heavy gunfire. The U.S. Embassy called the attack an "ambush."

When asked by the AP if the Mexican federal police officers involved in the shooting were tied to organized crime, the U.S. official said, "The circumstantial evidence is pretty damn strong."

Both the U.S. and Mexican officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the diplomatic issue.

A federal police on Tuesday maintained the position that their agents fired on the vehicle by mistake, thinking it belonged to a band of kidnappers they were pursuing, according to a spokesman who was not authorized to speak on the record.

The U.S. State Department declined to discuss details.

"We will not comment on an ongoing investigation," said William Ostick, a spokesman. "This is a matter of great significance to both our countries and we will continue to cooperate with Mexican authorities in their investigation."

The Mexican official said one line of investigation is that members of the Beltran Leyva Cartel were interested in attacking the people in the car because some of their lookouts had seen them passing through the area and presumed they were investigating the cartel. It's possible they didn't know they were Americans.

The rural road near Cuernavaca where the attack took place is known territory of the remnants of the Beltran Leyvas, a once-powerful cartel now run by Hector Beltran Leyva since the Navy killed his brother, drug lord Arturo Beltran Leyva, in Cuernavaca in late 2009. Beltran Leyva was once aligned with Mexico's powerful cartel, Sinaloa, headed by fugitive drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. But the groups split in 2008 and continued government hits on Beltran Leyva leadership since then have splintered that cartel into small gangs warring for the area.

The CIA officers were heading down a dirt road to the military installation with a Mexican navy captain in the vehicle when a carload of gunmen opened fire and gave chase. The embassy SUV tried to escape, but three other cars joined the original vehicle in pursuing it down the road, according to the original navy statement. Occupants of all four vehicles fired.

"This is somebody with a powerful automatic weapon just unloading an entire clip, reloading, and continuing to fire at that same impact point, clearly with the intention of penetrating the armor and presumably killing those who are inside," the U.S. official told the AP.

Surveillance cameras in the area recorded two civilian vehicles chasing the U.S. Embassy SUV, the Mexican official said. So far Mexican officials have said only federal police fired on the SUV.

The two CIA officers received non-life-threatening wounds and have returned to the United States. The navy captain was uninjured and radioed the navy for help.

(Page 3 of 3)

Twelve officers have been detained in the case and are being held under a form of house arrest pending possible charges, and 51 officers have testified in the case. The FBI, which is leading the investigation for the U.S., has been in on interviews of the detainees. At FBI headquarters in Washington, spokesman Paul Bresson declined to comment.

A Mexican federal police spokesman said last month that the officers may not have noticed the diplomatic plates. The official said police focused on the unusual sight of a bulletproof sport utility vehicle traveling at high speed on a rural road, not on the car's distinctive diplomatic plates.

But Raul Benitez, a security expert at Mexico's National Autonomous University, said Mexican military sources have told him that "the attack was not an error," and "the objective was to annihilate the three passengers in the car."

"The same car with the same people had been going up and back (to the marine training camp) for a week, so perhaps some lookout who worked for drug traffickers informed the police, or the Beltrans" about the vehicle, Benitez said.

He said the federal police must have known that they were attacking a diplomatic vehicle.

"I don't think we're yet in a position to say definitively who did it, who paid them and why they did it," the U.S. official said. "We have been assured repeatedly in private and in public that the government of Mexico will investigate this to the end and provide a final answer as to what occurred, and I think our posture at this stage is we take them at their word."

Mexico's federal police agency, which President Felipe Calderon calls the most professional and highly trained of the country's law enforcement, has been hit with allegations of wrongdoing in recent months. In August, all 348 officers assigned to security details at the Mexico City International Airport were replaced in the wake of a June shooting of three federal policemen, who were killed by a fellow officer believed to be involved in trafficking drugs through the terminal.

Ten federal police officers were arrested in the northern border city of Ciudad Juarez in 2011, accused of running an extortion ring.

Attacks on diplomatic personnel in Mexico were once considered rare, but the CIA attack was the third shooting incident in two years.

In 2011, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent was killed and another wounded in a drug gang shooting in northern Mexico.

A drug-gang shooting in 2010 in the border city of Ciudad Juarez killed a U.S. consulate employee, her husband and another man.

That could be the result of the break-up of larger cartels, said Andrew Selee of the Washington-based Mexico Institute, noting that historically drug traffickers didn't want the attention that a hit on U.S. personnel normally brings.

"The lower level leaders in the cartels are making decisions the more seasoned leaders.
  Read more about US car was targeted in Mexico ambush

A traffic stop Saturday morning by Oregon State Police (OSP) troopers on Interstate 5 north of Canyonville led to the arrest of two men after the discovery of approximately 2 pounds of heroin concealed in their vehicle. Follow up investigation by OSP Drug Enforcement Section detectives and troopers also led to the arrest of a wanted person in Newberg.

On September 1, 2012 at approximately 7:09 a.m. an OSP trooper stopped a 2004 Chevrolet Impala displaying Washington license plates northbound on Interstate 5 near milepost 102 for a speed violation. The two occupants were identified as driver VICTOR HUGO BARRAGAN ALCAZAR, age 18, and passenger ARMANDO GIOVANI VALENCIA, age 18, both from Vancouver, Washington.

Subsequent investigation with the assistance of an OSP drug detection canine led to the discovery of approximately 2 pounds of heroin concealed in the car's trunk with an estimated value of $70,000.

Both men were taken into custody for Unlawful Possession and Distribution of Heroin. They were later cited and released to appear at a future date on the charges in Douglas County Circuit Court.

The investigation led OSP Drug Enforcement Section detectives and OSP troopers to Newberg. With the assistance of Newberg Police, OSP arrested ENRIQUE BOTELLO SANCHEZ, age 31, from Vancouver, Washington on September 2nd for an outstanding Fail to Appear Warrant (DUII, Resisting Arrest). Charges are pending for SANCHEZ related to the initial traffic stop and heroin seizure.

  Read more about OSP Traffic Stop Leads to Seizure of 2 lbs of Heroin, Arrests of 3 People in Douglas and Yamhill Counties

A review of the 1,240 criminal aliens in the DOC prison population by numbers per crime and percentage (%) per crime equated to the following:

4-arsons (0.32%), 131-assaults (10.56%), 25-burglaries (2.02%), 29-driving offenses (2.34%), 171-drugs (13.79%), 4-forgeries (0.32%), 154-homicides (12.42%), 50-kidnappings (4.03%), 69-others (5.56%), 178-rapes (14.35%), 81-robberies (6.53%), 230-sex abuses (18.55%), 95-sodomies (7.66%), 12-thefts (0.97%), and 7-vehicle thefts (0.56%).
 

No member of the Oregon State Legislature should forget the uncounted crime victims and their families, no matter what their immigration status, all are victims of the 1,240 criminal aliens incarcerated in DOC prisons.

Besides the devastating human cost, the financial cost is overwhelming, as well.  Read David Olen Cross's full report.
  Read more about Oregon identified as a “sanctuary” for criminal aliens by USDOJ, the federal governments top law enforcement agency