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| Bail Denied to Ex-Border Patrol Agent |
| 2005-08-12 |
| A former Border Patrol agent, accused of lying about his citizenship, also smuggled immigrants in his official vehicle while on duty and was heard talking about smuggling drugs, a prosecutor said yesterday. A federal judge ruled that Oscar Antonio Ortiz, 28, should remain in jail without bail to prevent him from fleeing to Mexico, where he was born. Ortiz resigned from the Border Patrol Friday, the day after he was arrested. Prosecutor Michelle Jennings said Ortiz helped to smuggle more than 100 people into the United States, used a firearm during a felony and abused his position of trust. She said Ortiz was caught smuggling immigrants in 2001 and admitted to Border Patrol recruiters that year that he had used cocaine and marijuana. Jennings said Ortiz was born in Tijuana to a Mexican father and a Guatemalan mother and went to middle school and high school in the Mexican state of Sonora. Ortiz served in the U.S. Navy honorably and received favorable job evaluations at the Border Patrol, a defense lawyer said, evidence that his client stands by his promises and would return for court appearances. But the judge said Ortiz had rendered his government service a fraud by lying about his citizenship. Jennings said agents discovered an "obviously counterfeit birth certificate" when they searched Ortiz's home in June. In 2001, Ortiz, then a seaman aboard the Tarawa, an amphibious assault ship, was arrested in San Ysidro with two illegal immigrants in the back of a car he was driving, the prosecutor said. The two immigrants told authorities they each paid $200 to enter the United States, but no charges were filed. That same year, Ortiz used an Illinois birth certificate to apply for the Border Patrol, agents said in a court filing. Investigators learned this year that a birth certificate with that same number had been issued to someone else... The El Cajon-based agent was placed on administrative leave June 6, and was told to report to his superiors every day. He didn't. [Defense attorney Stephen] White said Ortiz wasn't shirking his duty, but was making the most of a bad situation. "He took a vacation," White said outside court. Ortiz and another Border Patrol agent were investigated after federal agents listening to wiretaps on an Encinitas-based drug ring heard them talking about immigrant smuggling, authorities said. The other agent has not been charged in the case. Outside court, prosecutors said they couldn't answer questions about that agent. |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #4 In 2001, Ortiz, then a seaman aboard the Tarawa, an amphibious assault ship, was arrested in San Ysidro with two illegal immigrants in the back of a car he was driving, the prosecutor said. The two immigrants told authorities they each paid $200 to enter the United States, but no charges were filed. Why in the world did it take 4 years to put this punk on trial? He was not an INS agent at the time, but still should've been charged! I guess 9/11 had some role to play (and the fact that he faked a birth certificate to get a Federal job at the INS), but good grief, he should've been charged then and there! |
| Posted by: BA 2005-08-12 08:22 |
| #3 No "Catch and Release" for you! |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2005-08-12 05:46 |
| #2 Nice to know that Border Patrol cops don't have to submit to background checks. "Lying about his citizenship" my ass. |
| Posted by: Chris W. 2005-08-12 01:35 |
| #1 A federal judge ruled that Oscar Antonio Ortiz, 28, should remain in jail without bail to prevent him from fleeing to Mexico, where he was born. "Excellent." -- C. Montgomery Burns |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-08-12 00:25 |