AZMEX UPDATE 3-6-16

AZMEX UPDATE 3 JUN 2016


Memorial Day operation leads to arrest of 2 scouts, 1 charged with assault
Wednesday, June 1st 2016, 5:55 pm MST
By Elizabeth Walton, Digital Content ProducerCONNECT

http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/32118511/memorial-day-operation-leads-to-arrest-of-2-scouts-1-charged-with-assault

Gear seized during a Memorial Day operation. (Source: Customs and Border Protection, Arizona)
PHOTOS: KOLD News 13 June Mugshots
CASA GRANDE, AZ (Tucson News Now) -

During a recent operation on Memorial Day, Border Patrol agents arrested two scouts, after one assaulted a BP agent.

It began at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 29, when BP agents with the Mountain team at the Casa Grande Station encountered two scouts during an operation geared toward an observation post in the Sawtooth Mountain Range, just outside Casa Grande. These scouts, according to CBP officials are often hired by criminal organizations to work from outposts, high up to guide human and narcotic smugglers.

According to a recent release, two BP agents had previously been assaulted by scouts in the last two months.

The third attack occurred on May 29, after BP agents encountered the two scouts. One scout assaulted an agent while trying to get away and down the mountain. According to the release a brief struggle ensued and the agent used pepper spray to subdue the man. He was identified as a Mexican national, and has been charged with assault on a federal officer, as well as attempt and conspiracy. This charge is often used to prosecute these scouts, according to the release.

A second scout was arrested and faces the same charges, but CBP officials say this second scout has an active felony warrant for homicide in Mexico.

In addition to the two arrests, BP agents seized four solar panels, two pairs of binoculars, eight cell phones, two radios and two radio chargers at the observation post.

In fiscal year 2015, Tucson Sector agents were assaulted 87 times, this amounts to 20 percent of all assaults on BP agents in the U.S.

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Seven undocumented immigrants, including 3 children removed from car trunks by Border Patrol
Mac Colson
7:36 PM, Jun 2, 2016
3 hours ago
http://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/seven-undocumented-immigrants-including-3-children-removed-from-car-trunks-by-border-patrol

TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - Border Patrol agents removed a total of 7 undocumented immigrants, including 3 children, from hot car trunks on Wednesday night at the I-19 checkpoint.

In two separate incidents agents thwarted smuggling attempts.

At 5:45 p.m., agents stopped a white four-door sedan for a secondary inspection. Agents discovered three people in the trunk during the vehicle search.

The subjects all identified as Mexican nationals, including a 16-year-old juvenile, and were taken into custody.

The driver, a United States citizen, was arrested and is pending criminal charges.

Agents stopped a white Pontiac sedan for a secondary inspection less than an hour later.

A search of the car revealed four undocumented aliens from Guatemala, including two under the age of 14, hiding in the trunk.

The subjects were taken into custody and the driver of the vehicle was arrested.

Both vehicles did not have emergency releases inside their trunks and lacked ventilation according to a Customs and Border Protection release.

The inside temperature of closed trunks can get in excess of 125 degrees with temperatures reaching triple digits during Arizona's summer months.

"This is another example of the callous disregard for life indicative of criminal organizations," Chief Patrol Agent Paul Beeson said. "If not for the actions of these Border Patrol agents, seven people including three children could have easily lost their lives at the hands of unscrupulous smugglers."

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