AZMEX SPECIAL 22 MAY 2018
Note: Evil doers beware, Santa Cruz County be tuff on crime.
Thx
Court briefs: Ex-CBP officer sentenced for gas card thefts; drug smuggler gets 2.5 years in prison
Nogales International 10 hrs ago
https://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/court-briefs-ex-cbp-officer-sentenced-for-gas-card-thefts/article_9ed796c6-5d5d-11e8-b804-bb875ab1ce4b.html
Ex-CBP officer sentenced for gas card thefts
Juan Fernando Barajas, a former U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer based in Nogales, was sentenced to five years of federal probation and ordered to pay $12,411 in penalties and restitution for using CBP credit cards to fuel up his personal vehicles.
Barajas was sentenced Monday at U.S. District Court in Tucson after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor offense. Bernardo Velasco, U.S. magistrate judge, ordered that he pay the fines and restitution in amounts of $225 per month for 56 months starting Aug. 1, his sentencing document shows.
According to his plea agreement, Barajas admitted that between April and November 2016, he stole 13 government credit cards meant for use in fueling CBP vehicles and used them to fill up his own vehicles' gas tanks. The original complaint filed against him alleged that the primary vehicle being gassed up was a black Mercedes-Benz SUV.
"I hid the theft of these cards by stealing one card at a time," Barajas said as part of the factual basis of his plea agreement. "When the card I had was discovered missing and cancelled by CBP, I would take the cancelled card back to the Nogales (port of entry) and switch it out for a CBP credit card that was valid and working."
According to the Arizona Daily Star, Barajas told the judge at Monday's sentencing that he was sorry, embarrassed and ashamed for what he did. Velasco responded: "I hope that you learn from this mistake and that you restart a new life," the Star reported.
Earlier this year, Barajas, who since resigned from CBP, took out paperwork to run for constable at Nogales Justice Court.
Drug smuggler gets 2.5 years in prison
A Mexican woman who was convicted at Superior Court of a Class 3 felony drug-smuggling offense was sentenced to 2.5 years in state prison.
Margarita Romo Gomez, 43, of Nogales, Sonora was sentenced May 8 by Judge Thomas Fink, who gave her credit for 220 days already served.
Romo's pre-sentence report, which contains the details of her offense, was sealed from public inspection. But a bulletin from U.S. Customs and Border Protection that matched multiple details of Romo's alleged offenses that were included in her charging document suggest that she was arrested Oct. 29, 2017 at the Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry after officers found more than 36 pounds of cocaine, worth approximately $413,000, within a quarter panel of a Dodge Caravan she was driving.
DUI bust for pot ends with felony conviction
A Nogales man with a long history of traffic-related offenses was sentenced to four months in prison and four years of probation for driving while high on marijuana.
Jose Luis Lerma, 38, was sentenced May 7 by Judge Anna Montoya-Paez of Santa Cruz County Superior Court after he pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated DUI, a Class 4 felony.
Court records show that on Aug. 6, 2016, Lerma was stopped for speeding in Nogales by an Arizona Department of Safety trooper. When the trooper approached Lerma's vehicle, he smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the interior, as well as on Lerma's person and breath.
Lerma reportedly told the trooper that he had a medical marijuana card and had smoked a joint an hour prior to be stopped. It also turned out that his driver's license was suspended.
When the officer searched the vehicle, he reportedly found two plastic containers of marijuana in the center console and seven burnt marijuana joints in the ashtray.
During a pre-sentence interview, Lerma told a probation officer that he was driving because he needed to go to work and support his family. He said he had medical marijuana with him to help with his migraines and anxiety attacks.
According to the terms of his sentence, he cannot be issued a driver's license for a year after his conviction. Once he is issued a license, he can only drive vehicles equipped with an ignition interlock device for the following two years.
Online court records show Lerma has numerous infractions for driving with a suspended license. In 2006, he was convicted in Santa Cruz County of aggravated DUI, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful flight from a law enforcement vehicle.
Man found drugged out in van sentenced to probation
Antonio Ortega of Nogales was found passed out in a van outside a local lodging establishment and discovered to be in possession of methamphetamine and heroin. He later pleaded to a Class 5 felony drug offense and was sentenced May 7 by Judge Anna Montoya-Paez of Santa Cruz County Superior Court to three years probation, including 60 days in the county jail.
Ortega, 25, was given credit for 30 days already served prior to sentencing, and another 30 days were deferred pending his compliance with the Project SAFE anti-drug program. The judge also ordered him to perform 90 hours of community service, complete a cognitive thinking class and obtain his GED before his probation ends.
Court records show that Nogales Police Department officers responded to a report of an unconscious male in a vehicle on May 30, 2017. Once at the scene, they roused the man, subsequently identified as Ortega, who appeared to be under the influence of intoxicants.
Inside the vehicle, they found a small baggie with a green, leafy substance, a pipe, a piece of burned aluminum foil, a small baggie of white powder (later identified as cocaine), pills and a burnt marijuana joint. When he got out of the car, more pills fell from his person and officers found a baggie containing a black substance (heroin) in his shorts pocket.
During a pre-sentence interview, Ortega told a probation officer that he didn't remember much about his arrest ("I had been on drugs for days," he said), but thought he had been left in the van by some friends with whom he had been partying.
Criminal consequences for man guilty of DV assault
A domestic violence assault has earned Miguel Dominguez of Nogales two years of probation and time in the county jail.
Judge Anna Montoya-Paez sentenced Dominguez, 31, on May 9 at Santa Cruz County Superior Court after he pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated domestic violence assault, a Class 6 felony.
As part of his probation, the judge ordered that he spend four weekends in jail. Another 30 days of jail time were deferred pending his completion of the Project SAFE anti-drug program.
Dominguez was also required to undergo a domestic violence assessment and complete any recommended treatment at his own expense, and complete 60 hours of community service.
Court documents show that Dominguez was arrested by Nogales Police Department officers following an incident on June 2, 2017 in which he reportedly assaulted his domestic partner in the car on the way home from a gathering, and then continued the abuse when they arrived at their apartment. He reportedly hit the woman in her face, arms and torso, bit her fingers, pulled her hair and twisted one of her piercings.
When the victim ran into the kitchen and grabbed a kitchen knife to defend herself, he grabbed the blade and cut his hand. He tried to flee the scene in a car, but the victim's sister arrived and blocked his path, so he fled on foot.
During his pre-sentence interview, Dominguez told a probation officer that he was sorry for what he did.
"I embarrassed myself and put my family through this as well. I have become a better person and will think and have better judgement about what decisions I choose to make," he reportedly said.
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