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FEDERAL COURT 1

1995

Federal courthouse plans inch along


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By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer
Plans for a new federal courthouse in Pecos are inching along, with a
representative of the General Services Admistration looking at proposed
sites this week.

Louis Phillippi of the Sites and Lease Administration Branch of GSA in
Fort Worth contacted property owners last week who had submitted
proposals. He said he would need a complete legal description of the
property in addition to his on-site inspection.

GSA said in its advertisement seeking "expessions of interest for land
option" that it would need 69,000 square feet of land, or one city
block, and that it would select the site most advantageous to the
government, all factors considered.

The Enterprise has learned that at least three sites near
the Reeves County Courthouse have been proposed. However, Betty King,
GSA representative, refused to divulge the total number of sites
proposed nor their locations.

Adequate parking space for the court and other agencies occupying the
building is one requirement for the site, GSA officials said.

Lindsay clears courthouse site

By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer
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Demolition of old buildings began this morning on the block at Cedar and
Fourth Streets where the federal courthouse is to be built.

Roy Lindsay Construction is uprooting trees and clearing debris, said
Jay Crawford, project manager for the contractor, Dominion Leasing of
Edmond, Okla.

Crawford said that demolition and site work is expected to take two to
three weeks, then construction will begin. "We will be finished up
sometime in late fall," he said.

Dominion Leasing won the $19 million contract to construct the
courthouse and provide parking for 70-plus vehicles, including secure
parking for judges, prosecutors and deputy U.S. marshals.

"It will be a sharp-looking building; a real addition to your town,"
Crawford said. "It is a project we are excited about."

The two-story brick building has "nice architectural features," he said.
It will sit toward the northeast side of the lot facing Cedar Street,
with public parking at the front and south side.

Charlie Davis is construction manager for the project. His mobile office
is to be delivered today or Friday, Crawford said.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Louis Guirola Jr. said that he has seen the floor
plans, which call for two courtrooms: one for the magistrate judge and
one for the district judge.

The judges were asked for their input on interior decor, Guirola said,
and he believes the same decor should be used in both.

They will replace a stately courtoom on the second floor of the Pecos
Post Office, which the two courts share.

Hall sues U.S. for mail truck wreck


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By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer

Willie B. Hall has sued the United States of America for damages
resulting from a traffic accident between his car and a mail truck.

Ruben Padilla Fuentes, a carrier for the Pecos Post Office, was driving
a 1992 Grumman mail truck when it collided with Hall's car at the
intersection of Cedar and Sixth Streets on Feb. 5, 1994, the suit
alleges.

Hall claims $153,110 damages for medical expenses, pain and suffering,
plus $500 (insurance deductible) for damage to his automobile.

He said that the mail truck failed to stop at a stop sign on Sixth
Street and hit his car, knocking it off the southbound lane of Cedar
Street, across the northbound lane and off the paved portion of the road.

The 72-year-old Hall was "severely and violently jolted" and was injured
in his neck, back, left shoulder, chest and left knee, the suit alleges.
Repairs to his car cost $2,207.

Postmaster Dwayne York said he investigated the accident and forwarded
the information to the U.S. Postal Service Tort Claims Division.

Hall said that his claim to that division ws rejected on Dec. 13, 1994.

The tort claims specialist was not available for comment this morning.

Monahans schools back ex-band leader


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By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer

Monahans school superintendent Dr. Jack Clemmons said the district fully
supports its band director in a sexual harassment suit filed by the
former assistant band director.

Tracie Gomersall filed the suit in Midland federal court in December,
claiming that band director Harold Floyd harassed her after she turned
down unwanted sexual advances.

Dr. Clemmons said he completed a five-month administrative investigation
in December, and "We can't find any basis to the allegations at all. As
a district we are supporting our employee."

The district has a strong policy prohibiting sexual harassment, he said,
but he found no evidence that Floyd harassed Gomersall.

"I talked to our current and past employees, and students, and I can't
find any basis at all," he said. "She never complained to anyone in this
district about sexual harassment."

Floyd hired Gomersall in May 1992, and she received outstanding teaching
evaluations the following spring, the suit alleges.

At the Texas Music Educators Association convention in San Antonio
during February 1993, Floyd used his position of authority to compel her
to engage in sex, Gomersall said.

The sexual harassment continued for 15 months, she claims. Her
responsibilities were reduced for the 1993-94 school year, and she was
terminated in May 1994.

She seeks an unspecified amount of damages.

Cocaine charges filed


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U.S. Magistrate Judge Louis Guirola Jr. this ordered two defendants
returned to the divisions where they were indicted and a third held on
charges of possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

Otis Stanford, 76, of Longview was arrested at the Sierra Blanca Border
Patrol checkpoint after agents allegedly found over a pound of cocaine
in his luggage. Judge Guirola set a preliminary hearing for Thursday.

Possession with intent over 500 grams (655 grams).

Sergio Silos-Galaviz will be returned to the Lubbock Division for trial
on a felony indictment, and Jose Correa-Merlin will go to Laredo.

Judge Guirola told the defendants that they could ask to have the
charges transferred to the Pecos Division if they wanted to plead
guilty, but he advised them to talk with their lawyer first.

Mark Roomberg, a new assistant U.S. attorney for the Midland-Odessa and
Pecos Divisions, presented the cases this morning.

On Monday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Katherine Baker of Alpine found seven
defendants guilty on immigration violations and traffic charges arising
in the Big Bend National Park.

Manuel Moreno-Rodriguez, 45, and Nicola Sanchez-Olivas, 23, both of
Presidio, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the illegal entry of
three Mexican citizens.

Admitting they entered the country illegally were Othoniel Sanchez-Luna,
20, Ernesto Sanchez-Luna, 22, and Javier Sanchez-Mendez, 24.

Guadalupe Ramon Luna-Uriste, 29, and Esmerelda Carrillo-Paiz, 28, both
of Midland, were charged by Big Bend National Park rangers with traffic
violations and eluding arrest.

Former inspector charged with bribery, fraud


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By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer

Federal grand jurors on Thursday indicted a former immigration inspector
at the Presidio Port of Entry on charges of bribery and fraud.

Henry Filemon Smith is charged with six counts of accepting bribes to
provide false documents and two counts of fraud and misuse of
immigration documents between October of 1991 and November of 1992.

Five counts allege that Smith accepted bribes of $100 to either provide
a false immigration document or make a false nonresident alien border
crossing card. For a leather jacket, Smith allegedly provided an
arrival/departure record with the notation "waiver of documents."

If convicted, he could be sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined
$250,000 or three times the amount of bribe on each of the bribery
counts and five years and $250,000 fine on the fraud counts.

Also charged is Melissa Imelda Rivera-Morales of Ojinaga, Mex. She is
charged with three counts of fraud and misuse of immigration documents
(arrival and departure record), and with four counts of transporting
illegal aliens.

If convicted, she could be sentenced to five years in prison and fined
$250,000 on each count.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Blankenship of Austin presented the two
immigration cases to the grand jury.

Jan Bonner, Midland AUSA, presented seven others. The grand jury
returned a "no bill" in one case, and one indictment was sealed.

Charged with drug violations are Rito A. Sanchez of Odessa, importing
and possession with intent to distribute marijuana; Carlos Rafael
Rosado-Gonzlez, 26, possession with intent to distribute marijuana;

Otis Stanford, 76, Longview, possession with intent to distribute
cocaine base "crack"; Oell William McEntee, 19, Morton, Miss.,
conspiracy to possess and possession with intent to distribuge cocaine
base "crack", and Curtis Vernon King, aka Oscar Armilin, possession of
piperidinocyclohexane.

The last three charges carry a sentence of 10 years to life in prison
and a $4 million fine.

Bundled marijuana found on ranch, says AUSA


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By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer

Testimony continued today in the federal court trial of three Van Horn
residents charged with conspiracy and possession with intent to
distribure 254 pounds of marijuana.

Border Patrol agents found the marijuana in several bundles on a ranch
owned by one of the defendants, Rafael Melendez-Lopez, said assistant
U.S. attorney Mark Roomberg in his opening statement Monday.

Ismael Espudo Jr. and Francisco Sanchez-Campos are Melendez's
co-defendants.

Also charged but not on trial are Hipolito Rodriguez-Saucedo, Eloy
Talavera Tarin, Juan Muro-Alvarez and Raul Rubio Ramos.

Rodriguez, Sanchez, Tarin and Muro backpacked the marijuana from the Rio
Grande to the Melendez ranch in Jeff Davis County, Roomberg said.

Ramos and Tarin have agreed to testify against the defendants and to
plead guilty, he said.

District Judge David Briones severed Muro's trial because Odessa
attorney Tony Chavez represented both him and Espudo. That was a
conflict of interest, Roomberg argued.

Muro will appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Louis Guirola Jr. on
Thursday for appointment of an attorney.

Also on Thursday, Judge Guirola will hold arraignment and detention
hearings for four defendants indicted last week. Otis Stanford, 76, of
Longview is charged with possession with intent to distribute crack
cocaine.

Charged with conspiracy to possess and possession with intent to
distribute marijuana are Fort Stockton residents Rito Manuel Sanchez,
41, Jesus Johnson-Cardenas, 44, and Sergio Corral-Cavira, 33.

They were named in a sealed indictment on evidence gathered by
Department of Public Safety narcotics agents and presented by the DEA
HIDTA task force.

If convicted, they could be sentenced to five to 40 years in prison and
fined $2 million.

Baker denies bail on pot charges


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Three defendants named in a federal court indictment for possession with
intent to distribute over 400 pounds of marijuana appeared before U.S.
Magistrate Judge Katherine Baker in Alpine Friday.

Baker denied bail for Rito Manuel Sanchez, Jesus Johnson-Cardenas and
Sergio Corral Cavira and set a detention hearing before Judge Louis
Guirola Jr. in Pecos for Thursday.

Corral-Cavira is charged with conspiracy to possess and possession with
intent to deliver a Schedule I controlled substance. Sanchez and Johnson
are charged with conspiracy.

The charges were filed by the Drug Enforcement Administration's HIDTA
task force in Alpine.

Jury selection began this morning in an unrelated drug case in District
Judge David Briones' court. When the docket was called at 9 a.m., only
three of the seven defendants were present. Some arrived later,
explaining they had been stopped by law enforcement officers while
enroute.

Hipolito Rodriguez-Saucedo of Van Horn failed to appear, said his
attorney, Mike Barclay. Barclay had filed a motion to suppress evidence
on behalf of his client, as had Jerry Caddell for Rafael Melendez-Lopez.

Other defendants are Francisco Sanchez-Campos, Eloy Talavera Tarin, Juan
Muro-Alvarez, Ismael A. Espudo Jr. and Raul Rubio Ramos.

Judge Briones has allowed four days for trial.

Housing director charged with sexual harassment


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By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer

A purported victim of sexual harassment by former Pecos Housing
Authority executive director Eleuterio "Chito" Garcia has filed suit
against the authority in U.S. District Court.

Noemi Arevalo claims in the suit that she sought to rent an apartment
with the housing authority while Garcia ws executive director.

"Garcia perpetrated a scheme of sexual harassment, conditioning the
procurement of housing on sexual quid pro quo, " the suit
alleges.

Quid pro quo is defined as "something for something," or
"one thing in return for another."

The harassment occurred on more than one occasion, violating Arevalo's
rights of equal protection and due process as provided by the Fourth and
Fourteenth Amendments to the Contitution, said Steve Hershberger, the
Odessa attorney representing Arevalo.

She seeks $450,000 damages for loss of privilege, mental anguish and
suffering and mental impairment, plus $1.5 million in punitive damages.

Scott Johnson, attorney for the housing authority, said today that he
has not received a copy of the complaint and could not comment.

Garcia was indicted for alleged official oppression resulting from
Arevalo's claims, but District Judge Bob Parks granted a motion to quash
that indictment on January 6.

Defense attorney Tony Chavez's motion to quash cited a faulty
indictment. Stickels said he would present evidence to another grand
jury, but that it was not ready for presentation when the grand jury met
last week.

El Pasoans held on cocaine charges


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By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer

Two young men from El Paso were charged this morning in federal court
with possession with intent to distribute 74 pounds of cocaine.

Juan Angel-Martinez-Carbajal, 23, and Juan Carlos Loya-Quinones, 22,
were arrested Monday at the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint at Desert
Haven, on U.S. Highway 62/180 east of El Paso.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Louis Guirola Jr. set bail at $25,000, allowing
the defendants to be released on their own signature. He ordered them to
seek employment and to submit to tests for drug use as requested by the
pre-trial service officer.

He appointed Scott Johnson and Randy Reynolds to represent the
defendants and set a preliminary hearing for next Thursday to determine
if the government has enough evidence to hold them for trial.

Judge Guirola also set a detention hearing and arraignment for Thursday
in the crack cocaine possession case against Otis Stanford, 76, of
Longview. He appointed a federal public defender to represent Stanford.

Fort Stockton men plead not guilty


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Three Fort Stockton residents pleaded "not guilty" this morning to
charges of conspiracy to possess and possession with intent to
distribute marijuana.

Sergio Corral-Chavira, 33, and Rito Manuel Sanchez, 41, are represented
by Arnulfo Ortiz. Jaime Cavazos represents Jesus Johnson-Cardenas, 44.

Jan Bonner, assistant U.S. attorney, withdrew the government's motion to
detain the defendants without bail. Judge Guriola set conditions of
release, including drug testing and electronic monitoring.

Women campers run afoul of law


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By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer
Women traveling together failed to get past federal checkpoints with
marijuana over the weekend, and two of them were charged before U.S.
Magistrate Louis Guirola Jr. Tuesday with violating federal drug laws.

Esther Rodriguez Berner, 42, of Kress was arrested as she and a female
companion traveled toward Amarillo from El Paso on U.S. Highway 62/180
in a pickup with camper.

Border Patrol agents at the Desert Haven checkpoint noticed that the
inside ceiling of the camper shell was lower than the outside, and it
had recently been painted.

When a drug-sniffing dog alerted to the camper, agents used a drill to
cut into the shell and located 40 packages of a green leafy substance
that field tested positive for marijuana.

Berner is charged with possession with intent to distribute over 100
kilograms of marijuana (221.6 pounds). Her passenger was released.

U.S. Customs inspectors at the Presidio Port of Entry arrested Serina
Rae Toomey of Denver Colo. Saturday after she crossed the international
bridge in a Hyundi car.

Using a drug-sniffing dog, they located over 100 pounds of suspected
marijuana in the vehicle. Toomey said she was paid $500 to smuggle the
marijuana into the United States from Mexico and deliver it to Colorado,
the complaint alleges.

She is charged with importing and possessing with intent to distribute
marijuana.

Van Horn trio found guilty on drug charges


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By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer

PECOS, Jan. 20, 1995 - Federal court jurors deliberated four four hours
Thursday before returning guilty verdicts against three Van Horn men
charged with conspiracy to possess and possession with intent to
distribute 254 pounds of marijuana.

Ralael Melendez-Lopez and Ismael A. Espudo Jr. were convicted on both
counts, but the jury found Francisco Sanchez-Campos guilty on the lesser
charge of simple possession.

Sanchez and three other men backpacked the marijuana from a point on
Chispa Road near the Rio Grande to a ranch owned by Melendez' father,
officers for the U.S. Border Patrol and DEA testified.

Two defendants testified for the government, confirming the officers'
testimony. Sanchez admitted carrying part of the contraband, but claimed
he was not told it was marijuana.

Sanchez said that Melendez picked him up Oct. 14, 1994 while he was
walking to the store in Van Horn and asked him if he would like to work
for him, without saying what he would be doing or how much he would be
paid.

Melendez took him south of Van Horn and left him on the road, where he
waited for four hours before a pickup arrived carrying the bundles,
Sanchez said. A package that he never saw was strapped to his back with
rope, and he walked across country for three hours to an abandoned house
on the Melendez ranch in Jeff Davis County.

Officers testified they followed tracks from the abandoned house to
three watering troughs in a field nearby and found bundles of marijuana
underneath them. The tracks were those of Melendez and Espudo, officers
said.

Border Patrol agents said they learned of the illicit activity when two
vehicles passed sensors along Chispa road near the Rio Grande. They
stopped a car and a pickup, but found no contraband and let the
occupants, Melendez, Espudo and Raul Rubio Ramos, go free.

Backtracking, they located foot tracks along the road and followed them
to the ranch where the marijuana was located.

One of the alleged backpackers, Hipolito Rodriguez-Saucedo, failed to
appear for trial, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Court sources
said he had been released on a signature bond, although he was from
California and had only lived in Van Horn two weeks before his arrest.

The seventh defendant, Juan Muro-Alvarez, will be tried later. Judge
David Briones severed his trial from the others because Odessa attorney
Tony Chavez was representing both Muro and Espudo.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Roomberg sought the severance because of a
conflict of interest between the two defendants.

The trial began Monday and concluded at 4 p.m. Thursday.

Border blockade diverts foot traffic east


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By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer

Foot traffic across the Rio Grande from Mexico has increased over the
past two weeks, said C.W. Thompson, acting chief for the Marfa sector.

While some say the increase is due to eroding value of the Mexican peso,
Thompson said that is not yet clear. But he does feel that traffic in
the Sierra Blanca area may have been diverted from El Paso, where a
border blockade has been in effect for months.

"I hear from down river at Del Rio and other locations that traffic has
increased in the last two weeks," Thompson said. "It is logical that it
could be caused by a drop in the peso, because if the money is not worth
as much over there, they are going to go where it is worth more and they
are paid more."

Thompson said his agents have been taking some routine cases to U.S.
Magistrate Judge Katherine Baker in Alpine in past weeks. Prosecutions
had been almost nil for the past two years because the agents won't come
to the magistrate in Pecos or Midland.

District Judge David Briones said last week he planned to meet with
Senior Judge Lucius Bunton to determine how the cases can best be
handled.

No official word had been received as of this morning, Thompson said,
but "there appears to be some type of agreement underway to encourage
more cases down here.

"It is fantastic for us," he said. "We can move these along quite a bit
more efficiently if we can get in to the court locally."

Apprehensions in the El Paso Sector this year have shown a 38 percent
increase over the figures for January 1994, said El Paso Border Patrol
Chief Silvestre Reyes.

``We are concerned that control of the border is eroding,'' said Reyes,
who blamed the increase on the month-old peso devaluation.

But an Immigration and Naturalization Service spokesman in Washington,
D.C., said Wednesday that overall, the agency has recorded no
discernible increase in illegal immigration since the peso began to
fall.

``We are watching the situation with great concern,'' said INS spokesman
Rudolph Brewington. ``We have seen no appreciable increase in the
numbers of people trying to come across.''

Reyes was quoted in Wednesday's El Paso Herald-Post as saying that most
crossers are coming around the edges of the Border Patrol's blockade, a
20-mile wall of agents placed along the Rio Grande to deter illegal
immigration.

Since Jan. 1, apprehensions topped 300 each day for 10 days, compared
with an average of 150 to 200 a day before the devaluation began in late
December.

Reyes said the need for more manpower is also contributing to the
problem.

Copyright 1997 Pecos Enterprise. All rights reserved. AP contributed to
this report.

Los Angeles man has double charges


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By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer

U.S. Magistrate Louis Guirola Jr. this morning appointed public defender
Maureen Scott to represent a Los Angeles man on charges of marijuana and
cocaine possession.

She will also represent a former immigration inspector who was indicted
last month on a charge of bribery.

Henry Filemon Smith, 44, of Laredo appeared before Guirola this morning
for arraignment on the indictment. He allegedly accepted numerous bribes
of $100 and a leather coat for allowing Mexican citizens to enter the
United States illegally.

Darren Maurice Robinson, 29, of Los Angeles, was arrested by U.S. Border
Patrol agents at the Sierra Blanca Border Patrol checkpoint Saturday. He
is charged with possession of 2.75 pounds of cocaine and 16 pounds of
marijuana.

Judge Guirola ordered Robinson held without bail because he is on parole
in Maryland for a felony conviction. He set a preliminary examination
and detention hearing for next Thursday.

Bunton, White break ground for federal building


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By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer

PECOS, Feb. 1, 1995 - Sixty years is a long time, even for a building.
Federal Judge Lucius Bunton long ago set in motion a plan to move his
court from the Post Office, built in 1935, to a new federal building
down the street.

This morning, Judge Bunton and Karen White, deputy district clerk,
broke ground for that building at 410 S. Cedar St. Judge Bunton also
signed the first official document at the new courthouse following the
groundbreaking ceremony.

"I certainly hope that the name of this courthouse would be "Judge
Lucius Bunton," said Steve Balog, court security officer and a deputy
marshal in Pecos for 22 years.

Recalling his years in the old building, Balog said that, like a
60-year-old woman, "Her plumbing is starting to go, she doesn't get as
warm as she used to, but we're not here to bury the courthouse, but to
build a new one."

He recognized local officials, County Judge Jimmy Galindo, Mayor Dot
Stafford, 143rd District Court Judge Bob Parks, County Court-at-law
Judge Lee Green and Tom Rivera, Pecos Chamber of Commerce executive
director.

"I want to especially thank the chamber president, Fred Dominguez, for
giving up his house on the other end of this block to make room for the
courthouse," Balog said.

Charlie Davis, construction superintendent, thanked the citizens on
behalf of Temple Design and Construction, for the opportunity to build
the facility. He handed shovels to Judge Bunton and White at the
northwest corner of the foundation pad.

Judge Bunton said he has met with the contractors and is very happy
with the contract award.

"They built the courthouse in Del Rio and did an excellent job there,"
he said.

He recognized courthouse staff present, including probation and
pre-trial services, clerk's office and marshals.

"If you haven't visited the old courthouse, you just don't realize how
crowded they have been," he said. "With the new courthouse, they will
have lots of courtooms, magistrates and judges' chambers. The marshals
will have plenty of room to take care of their business."

The clerk's office, which is in charge of court buildings, will occupy
the first floor of the "well thought-out plan," he said. "We are tickled
to death with it. I was advised if everything goes like we hope it goes,
by the end of the year we will be able to move in.

"For those of you in Pecos who waited all these yers, I thank you for
your efforts in this regard," he said.

Balog was the only federal officer in the courthouse when Bunton was
appointed judge in 1979, as the clerk's office had been closed.
Attorneys and other court support personnel drove to Pecos from El Paso
or Midland.

"We have added to the federal family and have a very fine staff,"
Bunton said.

"This dream has become a reality because of one man - Judge Bunton,"
said Balog. "He fought the system, took the heat more than you will ever
know. He took the heat to make this a reality."

George Vasquez, longtime businessman and lay minister, offered a
dedication prayer to close the ceremony.

Informally, Judge Bunton said he wanted to recognize the person who
arranged for the groundbreaking.

"Yesterday at this very hour, this had not even been thought of, and
Peggy McCracken put it together in short order," he said.

Big Spring man charged with marijuana smuggling

PECOS, Feb. 1, 1995 - Efrain Mier, 44, of Big Spring was charged before
U.S. Magistrate Louis Guirola Jr. with importing and possessing
marijuana for distribution.

U.S. Customs inspectors said they arrested Mier Thursday after he
entered the port of entry at Presidio in a 1984 Chevrolet pickup. Both
gas tanks had a dull sound, and the inspector noticed tampering
underneath the vehicle, according to the complaint.

Using a fiber optic scope, the inspector observed foreign objects in a
gas tank. When both tanks were removed, inspectors found 120 packages of
suspected marijuana weighing 114 pounds, the complaint alleges.

Mier told agents he was to be paid $500 to deliver the marijuana to
Odessa.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jan Bonner filed a motion to detain Mier without
bail, and Judge Guirola set a detention hearing.

Groundbreaking set for courthouse


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By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer

PECOS, Jan. 31, 1995 - Senior Judge Lucius Bunton will break ground at
10 a.m. Wednesday for the federal court building to be constructed at
410 S. Cedar Street. Bunton has served the Pecos court since taking the
bench in 1979 and is responsible for convincing appeals court judges and
administrators of the need for a new courthouse.

Temple Design and Construction is ready to begin pouring the concrete
foundation, said Charlie Davis, project superintendent.

Roy Lindsay Construction hauled in more than 2,000 cubic yards of dirt
to build up the base for the foundation, Davis said. High winds of the
past few days have made it difficult to get technical layouts in the
right place, but otherwise weather has not delayed the project, he said.

"The rain helped. We needed moisture in the pad dirt," Davis said.

The pad is one foot higher than the benchmark - which is the light pole
pedestal on Cedar Street, he said.

"This is just to get it to the elevation we need to get drainage off the
parking lot," he said.

Work appears to go quickly in the early stages because it is all out in
the open, but it will appear to be at a standstill after exterior walls
are in place, Davis said.

He expects to take two to three weeks to pour the foundation. Next comes
slab on grade, then interior masonry walls, then structural steel for
the skeleton. After exterior walls are raised, the interior will be
finished. Paving and landscaping come last.

"Then I'll get to go home for a couple of weeks," Davis said. He will be
on the job until tenants move in, which is scheduled for the fall.

Richard Brown and Associates did archetectual drawings for the
41,000-square-foot building, and Can-Am Construction Co. of Edmond,
Okla. is general contractor.

Dominion Leasing contracted with the General Services Administration to
build and lease the building to the federal government. The total
contract price is $19 million.

Baker denies bail on pot charges


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By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer

ALPINE, Jan. 16, 1995 - Three defendants named in a federal court
indictment for possession with intent to distribute over 400 pounds of
marijuana appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Katherine Baker in
Alpine Friday.

Baker denied bail for Rito Manuel Sanchez, Jesus Johnson-Cardenas and
Sergio Corral Cavira and set a detention hearing before Judge Louis
Guirola Jr. in Pecos for Thursday.

Corral-Cavira is charged with conspiracy to possess and possession with
intent to deliver a Schedule I controlled substance. Sanchez and Johnson
are charged with conspiracy.

The charges were filed by the Drug Enforcement Administration's HIDTA
task force in Alpine.

Jury selection began this morning in an unrelated drug case in District
Judge David Briones' court. When the docket was called at 9 a.m., only
three of the seven defendants were present. Some arrived later,
explaining they had been stopped by law enforcement officers while
enroute.

Hipolito Rodriguez-Saucedo of Van Horn failed to appear, said his
attorney, Mike Barclay. Barclay had filed a motion to suppress evidence
on behalf of his client, as had Jerry Caddell for Rafael Melendez-Lopez.

Other defendants are Francisco Sanchez-Campos, Eloy Talavera Tarin, Juan
Muro-Alvarez, Ismael A. Espudo Jr. and Raul Rubio Ramos.

Judge Briones has allowed four days for trial.

Customs inspectors nab marijuana stash


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U.S. Magistrate Katherine Baker of Alpine denied bail Tuesday for two
suspects caught at the Presidio Port of Entry with more than 50 pounds
of marijuana.

U.S. Customs inspectors arrested Phillip O. Muniz, 18, of Lubbock and
Manuel A. Chaidez, 24, of Bell Flower, Calif. on Monday as they entered
the United States from Mexico.

Judge Baker set a detention hearing for Friday on the charge of simple
possession of marijuana.

Grand jury indicts 5 on drug charges


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By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer

Federal grand jurors returned five indictments against six defendants
this morning, all on drug charges.

Curtis Vernon King, aka Oscar Armilin, was re-indicted for the third
time on a charge of possession of a controlled substance first thought
to be cocaine, then PCP, then near-PCP in an amount over 400 grams.

He was arrested at the Sierra Blanca Border Patrol checkpoint Dec. 7,
1994 with the white powdery substance in a suitcase aboard a Greyhound
Bus.

Others indicted are: Ester Rodriguez Berner of Kress, possession with
intent to distribute marijuana on January 19;

- Darren Maurice Robinson, 29, Los Angeles, Calif., possession with
intent to distribute marijuana and cocaine on January 28;

- Serina Ray Toomey, 19, of Denver, Colo., possession with intent to
distribute marjuana and importing marijuana on January 23;

Juan Angel Martinez-Carbajal and Juan Carlos Loya-Quinonez, possession
with intent to distribute over five kilograms of cocaine on January 16.

Four jail breakers back behind bars


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By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer

Escaping or planning to escape from area jails while serving a federal
sentence is a no-no, U.S. District Judge David Briones declared Monday
with stiff prison sentences for four offenders.

Jimmy Mac Haggard, 22, of Midland did get a break for acceptance of
responsibility for his escape from the Ward County Law Enforcement
Center in Monahans. But Judge Briones still sentenced him to 43 months
in prison, plus three years supervised release.

Juan Estrada-Sillas, Francisco Lopez-Escobar and Jesus Alvarez-Espinoza
received varying sentences for their attempt to escape from the Reeves
County Law Enforcement Center last year by bribing a guard.

Harking to their pleas to be sentenced near the low end of the guideline
range, Judge Briones gave Alvarez 16 months, Lopez 26 months and Estrada
10 months - each with three years supervised release.

All four sentences will be consecutive with prison sentences they are
currently serving. Haggard was serving a state prison sentence when he
was removed to the federal system to answer charges of threatening to
kill Senior Judge Lucius Bunton.

He was convicted of that charge and was awaiting designation to a
federal prison when he escaped from the Monahans jail.

The other three inmates were serving federal sentences and had been
designated to the Reeves County LEC.

Judge Briones granted their request that he recommend their terms be
completed in California federal prisons.

"We would like to go to the South of France, but will accept Terminal
Island (Los Angeles), said Mike Barclay, the Alpine attorney
representing Estrada.

Alvarez quoted a scripture passage from John 14 in asking Judge Briones
for mercy.

"I have to tell you that I really, really don't want to spend the rest
of my life in prison," said the father of a 2-year-old daughter.

Jose Vargas-Uribe, a Mexican citizen convicted by a jury on a drug
possession charge, also pleaded for mercy to care for his wife and
family.

He continued to plead his innocence. "I don't understand why immigration
agents have made statements accusing me of things I have not done," he
said. "They are not taking into account all the economic grief they are
causing my family and psychological grief they are causing me."

Vargas asked to serve his 76-month term in La Tuna at El Paso so his
wife and small child can visit him.

Horse tale didn't add up


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By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer

U.S. Customs inspectors testified this morning that they found 190
pounds of marijuana in an extended-cab pickup driven through the
Presidio Port of Entry on Nov. 12, 1994 by Phillip E. Laub.

Laub, 39, of Amarillo, is charged with importing and possessing with
intent to distribute marijuana. His attorney is Eva Marie Leahy of
Odessa.

Edna Lara, a Customs inspector who splits her time between Presidio and
her home town of Marfa, testified that she was on duty at the primary
inspection station when Laub drove across the International Bridge from
Mexico at 5:48 p.m.

Under direct questioning by government prosecutor Jan Bonner, Lara said
she became suspicious when Laub told her he had been to Mexico to
purchase horses and that he worked for Thomas Watson in Marfa.

"I knew that horses could not be imported," Lara said. "They have been
banned since July 1993."

And, Lara said, she knows nobody in Marfa named Thomas Watson. "I have
lived there all my life, and people in Marfa know each other," she said.

When Lara referred Laub's vehicle to the secondary inspection area,
inspector Alejandro Leos tapped on the side of the rear quarter panel of
the cab on the driver's side.

"I heard a dull sound," he said. "That indicates there is either
something inside the space between the interior wall and outer wall."

In further inspecting the vehicle, Leos said he removed a rubber plug on
the inside door frame and another inspector looked inside, using a
flashlight.

"He noticed bundles in there," Leos said. Laub was then escorted inside
to the "lockup," he said.

As he continued to inspect the vehicle, Leos said he noticed a square of
Bondo on the floor of the extended cab. Bondo is a fiberglass mixture
used to repair vehicles, he said.

After removing the bondoed area and panel, inspectors found additional
bundles of suspected marijuana wrapped in plastic. The total gross
weight was 190 pounds, he said.

"Drug dealers are bound to be rather clever in the way they hide
contraband?" asked Leahy.

"Yes."

"So it requires specialized training and knowledge to know where to
knock on vehicles?"

"Yes, and experience too," said Leos.

"So the average lay person might be able to look at a vehicle and think
it is normal?" asked Leahy, without getting a reply.

U.S. District Judge David Briones presided for jury selection for the
trial on Monday and has scheduled time for the trial to conclude on
Wednesday.
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