Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
16 Pendleton Marines Arrested in Migrant Smuggling Investigation
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
July 25, 2019

Share

SAN DIEGO —  Sixteen Marines were pulled out a battalion formation Thursday morning at Camp Pendleton and arrested in connection with a human smuggling investigation.
None of the Marines was involved in helping to enforce border security, the Marine Corps said in a news release. The base is located about an hour north of the U.S.-Mexico border.
The arrests come weeks after two Marines were arrested near the border by a Border Patrol agent. The two were accused of smuggling three Mexicans into the United States. Thursday’s arrests came after naval investigators pulled information from the two Marines’ phones, according to Task & Purpose, a news site that focuses on military issues.

Charges Include Human Smuggling, Drug Offenses

According to the Marine Corps statement, those arrested Thursday are charged with crimes ranging from human smuggling to drug-related offenses. Another eight are being questioned about their alleged involvement in drug offenses as part of a separate investigation.
Officials could not be immediately reached for further comment.
Marines this year were brought in to help support the Department of Homeland Security in reinforcing the border by installing razor wire on top of existing barriers. Military troops are barred from making arrests of immigrants.

2 Marines Pulled Over by Border Patrol

In the earlier case, the two Marines were pulled over July 3 by a U.S. Border Patrol agent near Jacumba Hot Springs, near the border and about 50 miles east of San Diego, according to reports by Quartz and Marine Corp Times.
Three undocumented immigrants who were in the back seat told authorities they planned to pay $8,000 to be smuggled into the U.S., the Times reported.
The Marines were identified as Lance Cpl. Byron Darnell Law II and Lance Cpl. David Javier Salazar-Quintero. Law reportedly said that on July 2, Salazar-Quintero asked him if he wanted to earn $1,000 by picking up an “illegal alien.”
According to court documents, the two drove to Jacumba Hot Springs on July 2 and, guided by someone in Mexico calling them on a phone, collected a person at a pickup spot, Law said. The Marines drove the person to a fast-food parking lot in Del Mar. A middleman met them there but didn’t give them the money Law said they had been promised.
On July 3, Salazar-Quintero called Law and asked if he wanted to try again. Law said Salazar-Quintero guaranteed they would be paid this time.
They collected their passengers about 10 a.m. and were arrested a few minutes later, court documents said.

DON'T MISS

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

DON'T MISS

North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

DON'T MISS

Democrats Strike Deal to Get More Biden Judges Confirmed Before Congress Adjourns

DON'T MISS

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

DON'T MISS

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

DON'T MISS

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

DON'T MISS

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

DON'T MISS

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

DON'T MISS

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

DON'T MISS

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

UP NEXT

What Will Happen to CNBC and MSNBC When They No Longer Have a Corporate Connection to NBC News?

UP NEXT

Major Storm Drops Record Rain, Downs Trees in Northern California After Devastation Further North

UP NEXT

Newsom Heads to Fresno, a County That Voted for Trump

UP NEXT

Conservative Professors and Students Are Beating CA Community Colleges in Court

UP NEXT

Thousands of University of California Workers Go on 2-Day Strike Over Wages, Staff Shortages

UP NEXT

Gavin Newsom Pledged to Release His Tax Returns Every Year. The Last One Was for 2020.

UP NEXT

California Governor Will Not Make Clemency Decision for Menendez Brothers Until New DA Reviews Case

UP NEXT

Fewer Kids Are Going to California Public Schools. Is There a Right Way to Close Campuses?

UP NEXT

California Voters Reject Measure That Would Have Raised Minimum Wage to Nation-High $18 Per Hour

UP NEXT

With Democracy Supposedly at Stake, California Voters Stayed Away in Droves

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

6 hours ago

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

6 hours ago

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

6 hours ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

7 hours ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

7 hours ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

7 hours ago

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

8 hours ago

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

8 hours ago

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

8 hours ago

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

8 hours ago

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

NEW YORK — Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general, was chosen Thursday by Donald Trump to serve as U.S. attorney general hours after...

4 hours ago

4 hours ago

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

5 hours ago

North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

5 hours ago

Democrats Strike Deal to Get More Biden Judges Confirmed Before Congress Adjourns

6 hours ago

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

President Joe Biden with Mary Barra, the chief executive of General Motors, at the Detroit Auto Show, Sept. 14, 2022. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to erase the Biden administration’s tailpipe rules designed to get carmakers to produce electric vehicles, but most U.S. automakers want to keep them. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
6 hours ago

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

6 hours ago

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

7 hours ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at First Horizon Coliseum, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Greensboro, NC. (AP/Alex Brandon)
7 hours ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend