AZMEX UPDATE 6-3-18

AZMEX UPDATE 6 MAR 2018



New Mexico closes section of border wall to Customs and Border Protection
By: Kyle Hanson
Posted: Mar 06, 2018 12:51 PM MST
Updated: Mar 06, 2018 12:51 PM MST

http://www.kvia.com/news/new-mexico/new-mexico-closes-section-of-border-wall-to-customs-and-border-protection/712182811

Santa Fe, NM - New Mexico Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn says a one mile section of border wall just east of the Santa Teresa port of entry has been constructed on a state land trust without permission. Dunn says he will block border patrol where they trespass.

The section of land was given to New Mexico when it was a territory back in 1898 in accordance with the Ferguson act. The act states the land trust is to be used solely for public schools.

A proclamation made by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1907 reserved a 60 foot wide strip of land along the U.S. side of the border for the federal government. The move was to prevent illegal smuggling of goods into the United States. Since New Mexico acquired the land before the proclamation, permission and payment for the occupation or use of the land by the federal government is required.

Commissioner Dunn launched an investigation last month that revealed the federal government did not acquire the necessary right-of-way, priced at $19,200, before building a border wall and a road along the trust lands in Santa Teresa.

Another section further to the west was found to be in violation of the trust as the United States built a structure, electric lights, and a road outside the proclamation area on State Trust Lands. That would cost the federal government an additional $9,600.

Dunn said, "Border security is important, but so are our kids and they have a right to collect the money earned from the lands they own. Mr. Trump, tear down this wall or pay New Mexico school kids what they're owed."

U.S. Customs and border protection released a statement saying, "U.S. Customs and Border Protection is diligently evaluating the concerns outlined by the New Mexico Land Commissioner's Office and will contact them directly to address their concerns. CBP values its relationship with the New Mexico state trust lands. An important part of CBP's strategy to successfully secure the nation's borders includes developing and leveraging partnerships and dialogue with state and local stakeholders to ensure that the unique operational needs of each region are effectively met."

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Man blew through checkpoint with meth, guns in car
Nogales International 14 hrs ago (0)

http://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/man-blew-through-checkpoint-with-meth-guns-in-car/article_44f164f4-20b6-11e8-b7e5-cbcb1646e2a0.html

A former Department of Homeland Security employee who barreled through the Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 19 in a car carrying methamphetamine and firearms was sentenced to five years of probation.

Sean Derek Golliher, 43, of Flagstaff, was sentenced Feb. 26 at Santa Cruz County Superior Court by Judge Thomas Fink, who also required Golliher to serve six months in the county jail. Another 30 days of jail time were deferred pending his successful participation in the Project SAFE anti-drug program.

According to Golliher's pre-sentence report, he drove through the checkpoint on Aug. 28, 2016, running over several traffic barricades and sending Border Patrol agents fleeing to avoid being run down.

Agents followed Golliher and he eventually pulled over. However, as they attempted to pat him down, he reportedly kept trying to reach for something under his waistband. He turned out to be wearing an empty gun holster.

Inside his vehicle, authorities found 13 plastic baggies containing a total of 27.8 grams of methamphetamine, as well as two handguns and eight loaded magazines. In addition, they found a glass pipe with residue in his front pants pocket and a butane torch.

What's more, agents found a wallet containing Golliher's U.S. Customs and Border Protection credentials, though a "retired" stamp had been removed from the ID.

His pre-sentence report says that he has been on workman's compensation from the Department of Homeland Security since 2014 due to a neck injury. It also shows that he joined the U.S. Air Force in December 1996 and was medically discharged in May 1997 due to a knee injury he sustained in basic training.

In a letter to the judge, Golliher claimed to have no recollection of the events leading up to his barreling through the checkpoint. He claimed that he was at a hotel in Nogales when two men showed up at his door and apparently injected him with something.

"The very next thing I remember is hearing a crash and seeing my windshield shattered in front of me and I'm driving down the road scared out of my mind thinking I must have hit a deer," he wrote.

He also asked the judge to allow him to change his guilty pleas to no-contest pleas.

He was convicted on one count of attempted unlawful transportation of a dangerous drug for sale, a Class 3 felony, as well as endangerment, a Class 6 felony, and a Class 1 misdemeanor DUI offense. The first conviction earned him five years of probation plus the jail time. The other two were punished with three years of probation each, with the sentences to run concurrent to (at the same time as) the five-year sentence.

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