According to reports, two men were recently detained by Border Patrol agents and are now facing extradition. Both men are facing serious penalties for various criminal charges. One of the men, a 19-year-old U.S. citizen is wanted for murder in the United States and is awaiting extradition to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The other man is a Romanian national that is also wanted by Italian law enforcement for drug trafficking.
Border Patrol agents arrested the 19 year old around during the evening hours near Salton City at a border checkpoint. According to officers, after detaining the young man, authorities ran a record check that revealed that h was wanted on an outstanding $10 million warrant for murder. The man was turned over to the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office and is currently awaiting transfer to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested the other man the following evening. Agents apprehended the 31-year-old Romanian along with eight other Romanians suspected of attempting to illegally enter the United States.
After apprehending the foreign nationals and conducting record checks, agents noticed an outstanding warrant issued by Interpol for drug trafficking. The man was subsequently turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and is awaiting extradition proceedings.
Border agents from El Centro reported over 1,000 outstanding warrant arrests in the last year. Being arrested at the border, whether it is for drug trafficking or some other crime, can raise a whole host of additional issues, including jurisdiction and extradition matters.
Prosecutors are likely to pursue these cases with particular vigor, especially in the case of the 19-year-old young man with numerous criminal charges to settle. Federal drugs crimes, especially those involving international border crossings, carry very stiff penalties for conviction. This is why it’s vital to make sure that all of the evidence used by prosecutors was properly collected and actually connects the individual to a criminal incident.
Source: The Desert Sun, “Murder, drug trafficking suspects nabbed by Border Patrol,” Denise Goolsby, Aug. 14, 2012