Posted on 09/20/2006 4:29:57 PM PDT by Dubya
LA VILLA, Texas - A former police officer about to face trial on drug charges and five alleged members of a violent drug gang escaped from a privately run federal jail near the Mexican border by overpowering a guard and cutting through at least four fences, officials said Wednesday.
More than 60 local and federal law-enforcement officers using helicopters and bloodhounds were searching near the East Hidalgo Detention Center, a facility owned by a Lafayette, La., company about 20 miles north of the border.
A four square-mile security perimeter was set up around the area during the initial investigation but was later lifted.
Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Trevino said in a press release that the men were likely picked up in a vehicle on state Highway 107, which runs in front of the facility.
"This conclusion was arrived at because the 'hot trails' tracked by the bloodhounds all led to the roadway where the scent stopped," the statement said.
He said the escape "appears to have some sort of suspicious origin. ... There's a lot of questions that need to be answered."
Among the escapees was former McAllen police officer Francisco Meza-Rojas, whose trial was scheduled to begin Oct. 3 on federal drug trafficking charges. The other escapees were alleged members of Raza Unida, a violent drug gang.
Authorities determined that the inmates gained access to several exit doors after overpowering a guard with a homemade knife and locking him in a room, then used "some sort of wire cutter" to breach the fence lines, the statement said. No alarm was sounded.
The guard was not injured, Trevino said.
"We're considering all six individuals very dangerous and armed," Trevino said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Felix Garza said the men were considered a flight risk to Mexico and that CBP officers at checkpoints were put on the lookout.
He said CBP was notified either a few minutes before or after 10 p.m., about 20 minutes after the break. He said it was conceivable the men could make it to the border in that time frame.
The facility is a minimum-to-maximum security unit with 950 beds, about 800 of which are federal. LCS Corrections Services Inc., of Lafayette, La., bought the jail about five years ago.
LCS Vice President Richard Harbison, who was on his way to La Villa, said two county inmates in an earlier incident at the East Hidalgo facility had been working outside the fence and walked off.
"That facility had never had a breakout through the fence," he said.
Trevino said the federal inmate population included 80 county inmates detained there because of a county overflow problem.
"The Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office will continue to investigate along with the U.S. Marshals to attempt to determine if anybody else participated or aided in the escape and to capture the escapees," he said.
Officers were searching door to door early Wednesday, residents were asked to stay home with their doors locked, La Villa schools were searched by the sheriff's department and closed for the day, and a highway near the detention center was shut down.
"I think they're scared. A lot of people are scared. They canceled school and everything," said Raul Castillo, a 26-year-old clerk at a Quick Mart in this town of 1,300 about 220 miles south of San Antonio.
A U.S. Marshals deputy said the escape may involve the largest number of federal prisoners to escape at once in the last two decades.
"To my knowledge, and that is 21 years with the marshals service, I do not recall any escapes with this number of people," David Davidson said. "It's highly unusual that that many would escape at one time."
The sheriff said the men, wearing green inmate jumpsuits, escaped at about 9:45 p.m. CDT Tuesday and that local officers, the Border Patrol and the U.S. Marshal's Service were involved in the search.
Meza-Rojas and four of his brothers were indicted in April on charges that they were smuggling, transporting and storing cocaine and marijuana. Meza-Rojas was believed to be the leader of the drug operation.
The nine-count indictment accused the men of smuggling drugs into the United States and transporting them to safe locations for delivery to other drug trafficking organizations. Officials said the drugs typically were brought into the United States through a rural area south of Mission, the residence of Meza-Rojas' four brothers.
Charges against the Meza-Rojas brothers included conspiracy to import into the U.S. and to possess with intent to distribute. The conspiracy offenses carries a penalty of up to life in prison and a $4 million fine.
Peter Aleman, a 35-year-old security guard at the Quick Mart, said the break was especially alarming because there were so many places in the areas sprawling fields and ranches to hide.
"They made a big mistake by building the facility so near the schools," he said. "A lot of people were against it."
Harbison said LCS operates seven facilities, two in Texas, four in Louisiana, and one in Alabama.
He said there had been one breakout at the companies Pine Prairie, Louisiana, facility.
-----------
Associated Press writer Jeff Carlton in Dallas contributed to this report.
I almost want to laugh but I might cry. Am I the only one that would like to helicopter drop EVERY illegal that is in our system over into the southern Mexican desert? Break one leg as final punishment, put a searing brand mark on them, if they are caught again, they get old sparky.
"United Race," huh? Gee, if these punks were Aryan Nation or something, you can bet there would be a racism angle. I guess they can't call these guys "hispanic supremacists" or whatever.
Shoot on sight..........eliminate repeat offenders
That works for me.
If they didn't have an outside accomplice then they must have hijacked a vehicle. Which means there is a kidnapping or a murder here too.
ping
Violent drug gang members locked up in a minimum security prison....who are the idiots that suggested this.
Must have been a Federal Judge, I guess.
ahhh, these guys don't stand a chance. Those 1000 national guardsmen on the border will have them back in jail by sunrise!
LCS Corrections, owner, LeBlanc, Michael W. Private prisons are BIG business and big political contributors. The more illegal aliens, the more business.
LeBlanc, Michael W. LCS Corrections Ser. Inc./Vice-Pres $1,000 05/23/2005 ORTIZ FOR CONGRESS COMMITTEE - Democrat
LeBlanc, Michael W LCS Correction Services/CEO $2,000 05/04/2005 RUBEN HINOJOSA FOR CONGRESS - Democrat
http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/contributions/
Brooks County Detention Center (Fallfurrias, TX) — LCS Corrections immigrant detainee escapes from Brooks County Detention Center; the resulting manhunt involves over 100 officers from the Brooks County Sheriff’s Department, Department of Public Safety, Border Patrol, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and the local fire department (2004)
http://www.schr.org/prisonsjails/news/Tutwiler/news_tutwiler23mtgy.htm_
But less than two months later, when the board had shrunk to only three members - just enough for a quorum - it unanimously recommended immediate implementation of the contract. The LeBlancs also run Premier's parent company, LCS Correction Services, which has faced numerous lawsuits and investigations in its work running jails. They ran into legal trouble with a gambling operation on an American Indian reservation. Williamson was fined $100,000 by the National Association of Securities Dealers in the early 1990s and barred from associating with other NASD members.
http://www.flpba.org/private/rap_LCS.html__
http://www.themonitor.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&StoryID=15432&Section=Local
Authorities suspect prison break was inside job
September 21,2006
Kaitlin Bell and Andres R. Martinez
Monitor Staff Writers
LA VILLA — Prison and law enforcement authorities were investigating Wednesday whether a guard or other staffer at the La Villa detention facility may have helped the six federal inmates who escaped late Tuesday night.
The six escapees were housed in a single cell in a minimum-to-medium security building, even though five of them were known to be members of a Corpus Christi-based prison gang known as La Raza Unida, according to local and federal officials.
They broke out Tuesday at about 9:45 p.m. by threatening a guard with a homemade knife and then cutting a hole in the electric fence outside. They were still on the loose as of Wednesday night and considered armed and dangerous.
The five suspected La Raza Unida members — Fernando Garza-Cruz, Joel Armando Mata-Castro, Vicente Mendiola-Garcia, Enrique Peña-Saenz and Saul Leonardo Salazar-Aguirre — were illegal aliens from the Weslaco area held on immigration charges.
The sixth inmate, Francisco Meza-Rojas, is a former McAllen police officer facing trial on charges he and his four brothers smuggled marijuana and cocaine across the border from Mexico.
They were among approximately 950 inmates held at the East Hidalgo Detention Center, a federal prison privately run by a Louisiana company, LCS Correctional Services.
Company spokesman Richard Harbison confirmed the prisoners were housed together in an eight-bunk cell, even though he said facility managers try to not house gang members near one another.
The five illegal immigrants were members of La Raza Unida, Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said. But it is unclear whether prison officials knew of their affiliation.
Harbison, who traveled from Louisiana to Texas Wednesday because of the escape, said the prison would be conducting an internal investigation to determine what went wrong.
LCS also summoned a technology representative from the company that manufactured the fence to see whether it malfunctioned or whether someone had turned it off prior to the escape.
Harbison confirmed that prison officials worried the jailbreak might have been an inside job — as did the sheriff.
"From a law enforcement perspective, it appears to be highly suspicious," said Treviño, whose agency initially led the manhunt.
LCS, which maintains seven prisons in Texas, Louisiana and Alabama, has experienced several other jailbreaks at its Hidalgo and Brooks county prisons.
In fact, less than 24 hours after Tuesday night's escape, an inmate en route to McAllen Medical Center on Wednesday afternoon jumped out of the back of the ambulance on Expressway 83 before a La Villa prison guard quickly apprehended him nearby on Jackson Road.
Another inmate pulled a similar stunt in September 2005, when he escaped from the parking lot at McAllen Medical Center after complaining of pains that prompted guards to transport him to the hospital. Federal agents captured him in March.
And, in 2002, two prisoners escaped from an LCS facility in Brooks County.
Two inmates — one held on a capital murder charge — also escaped from the La Villa facility in 2000, when it was run by another company named Texson. LCS took over the complex from Texson in 2001, when LCS officials say the previous owner went bankrupt. In that incident, authorities apprehended one escapee within 24 hours, but took two more years to apprehend the second.
Michael Hallett, chairman of the criminal justice department at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla. and an expert on privately-run prisons, said such facilities face a greater risk of inmates escaping because they are typically understaffed and pay low salaries in order to make profits.
These working conditions make for high staff turnover rates, he said.
"So, you have poorly trained guards who are too few in number and who are very inexperienced — and that combination of factors makes them susceptible not just to corruption, but also to coercion by the inmates inside," Hallett said.
"That sounds like an inside job," Hallett said of the circumstances surrounding this week's escape in La Villa.
The La Villa facility has come under scrutiny before, said U.S. Marshals Service spokesman Joe Magallan.
"We have arrested other jailers from that facility before," he said. "Years back other jailers had been terminated for taking drugs in, taking bribes."
Harbison claims the La Villa facility is far from understaffed, though.
It employs 180 guards to watch the approximately 950 inmates — a higher guard-to-inmate ratio than required under state law, he said. But it was not clear how many of those guards are actually on duty at the same time.
_______
LCS Corrections, owner, LeBlanc, Michael W.
Private prisons are BIG business and big political contributors. The more illegal aliens, the more business.
______
LeBlanc, Michael W. LCS Corrections Ser. Inc./Vice-Pres $1,000 05/23/2005 ORTIZ FOR CONGRESS COMMITTEE - Democrat
LeBlanc, Michael W LCS Correction Services/CEO $2,000 05/04/2005 RUBEN HINOJOSA FOR CONGRESS - Democrat
http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/contributions/
Brooks County Detention Center (Fallfurrias, TX) — LCS Corrections immigrant detainee escapes from Brooks County Detention Center; the resulting manhunt involves over 100 officers from the Brooks County Sheriff's Department, Department of Public Safety, Border Patrol, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and the local fire department (2004)
http://www.schr.org/prisonsjails/news/Tutwiler/news_tutwiler23mtgy.htm_
But less than two months later, when the board had shrunk to only three members - just enough for a quorum - it unanimously recommended immediate implementation of the contract. The LeBlancs also run Premier's parent company, LCS Correction Services, which has faced numerous lawsuits and investigations in its work running jails. They ran into legal trouble with a gambling operation on an American Indian reservation. Williamson was fined $100,000 by the National Association of Securities Dealers in the early 1990s and barred from associating with other NASD members.
http://www.flpba.org/private/rap_LCS.html__
[South Texas]Sheriff: Circumstances surrounding prison escape “suspicious”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1705082/posts
News Release-more-:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 20, 2006
Five Brothers Arrested on Drug Trafficking Charges
APR 20 -- (McALLEN, TX) United States Attorney Donald J. DeGabrielle, Jr. announced the arrests of Francisco Meza-Rojas, 41, of McAllen, Texas, and his brothers, Ruben Meza, 40, Juan Antonio Meza, 35, Jesus Lorenzo Meza, 32, and Miguel Hernandez-Rojas, 45, all of Mission, Texas. The indictment, parts of which remain sealed, alleges that Francisco Meza-Rojas was the leader of a drug trafficking organization which utilized family members to smuggle, transport, and store large quantities of cocaine and marijuana for multiple drug trafficking organizations, which would in turn, further distribute the controlled substances. The indictment further alleges that an individual identified only as El Aguila contracted with the Meza Drug Trafficking Organization to cross controlled substances into the United States and to transport the controlled substances to safe locations for delivery to other drug trafficking organizations. Also named in the indictment is Jorge Enrique Macias-Nevarez, a resident of Mexico, who was identified in the indictment as a Mexican smuggler who coordinates the movement of the controlled substances across the Rio Grande River. The cocaine and marijuana were typically smuggled into the United States in a rural area south of Mission, Texas, between Granjeno and Penitas.
In addition to the individuals named above, _Jose MONSERRAT NArvaez, of Mission, Texas was arrested today. All of those arrested are expected to appear in federal court tomorrow for initial appearances. The United States will be requesting that all of the individuals be held in federal custody without bond pending trial.
The indictment accuses the Mezas, Hernandez-Rojas, El Aguila, Macias-Nevarez, and MONSERRAT-Narvaez of conspiring to import more than five kilograms of cocaine and more than 1000 kilograms of marijuana into the United States from the United Mexican States over the course of a seven year period beginning around July of 1998. The indictment also alleges that the above named individuals conspired to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and more than 1000 kilograms of marijuana during the same time period. If convicted of the conspiracy offenses, the Mezas, Hernandez-Rojas, El Aguila, Macias-Nevarez, and MONSERRAT- NArvaez, each face a mandatory minimum of ten (10) years up to life imprisonment, without parole, and a fine of $4 million.
Francisco Meza-Rojas and various others are also accused of possession with intent to distribute approximately 960 kilograms of marijuana in February 2001, approximately 271 kilograms of marijuana in June 2001, approximately 279 kilograms of marijuana in April 2003, approximately 43 kilograms of marijuana in July 2003, approximately 121 kilograms of marijuana on October 22, 2003, approximately 1485 kilograms of marijuana on October 24, 2003, and approximately 270 kilograms of marijuana in November 2003. These other charges carry punishments ranging from up to five years imprisonment to life imprisonment depending upon the quantity of drugs involved.
The indictment is a result of an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation conducted by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Mission Police Department, McAllen Police Department, Weslaco Police Department, Starr County District Attorney’s Office, and the United States Marshal’s Service. The criminal case will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Toni Trevino.
An indictment is an accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until convicted through due process of law.
###
News Mon, 22 Apr 2006 00:00:01 PST
badcopnews.com 9793 2006-04-22
McALLEN, TEXAS -
The head of what prosecutors are calling the “Meza Drug Trafficking Organization” was a former city police officer who left his job in 1992.
Francisco Meza-Rojas, 41, was a McAllen police officer for a “few years,” police spokesman Sgt. Joel Morales confirmed.
This is the second brother in an almost 10-year-old Drug Enforcement Administration investigation to be linked to a local police department. Jesus Lorenzo Meza, a 32-year-old Edinburg police officer, was arrested while on duty at 4 a.m. Wednesday at the city jail there.
“Why they went to the other side I don’t know,” said DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Will Glaspy, who heads the DEA office in McAllen.
DEA agents used information Jesus Meza provided that morning to arrest Meza-Rojas, three other Meza brothers and four other people, local police said. Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, and Mission, McAllen and Edinburg police, aided in the arrests.
The Meza organization is not as large as a cartel, but they were large enough that it warranted an investigation, Glasby said.
“It is a significant investigation into a significant organization,” he said. “They are worthy of us spending that much time on.”
He referred all other question to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
The U.S. Attorney’s office did not return calls for comment on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Nor did they provide copies of the indictment, or make it available online.
However, according to a statement the office issued Thursday, the Meza family smuggled, transported and stored large amounts of cocaine and marijuana for distribution to other trafficking organizations in the Rio Grande Valley. The alleged drug shipments entered the country through an area south of Mission, between Granjeno and Peñitas.
Morales said Meza-Rojas “most likely” resigned in 1992. It wasn’t clear if he could’ve been fired or forced out, Morales said. He referred any further questions on the matter to federal authorities.
The three other brothers who were arrested are all from Mission: Ruben Meza, 40; Miguel Hernandez-Rojas, 45; and Juan Antonio Meza, 35.
The five brothers entered into a contract to smuggle drugs across the border with someone only identified as “El Aguila,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s statement.
Jorge Enrique Macias-Nevarez, of Mexico, was also indicted for his role in coordinating movement of drugs across the border.
And Mission residents Jose Moncerrat-Narvaez, 41, Arturo Hinojosa, 24, and Robert Lee Rodriguez, 27, round out the list of nine who were indicted.
All nine suspects face conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute charges of cocaine and marijuana. These charges carry penalties as severe as life imprisonment and millions of dollars in fines.
Ruben Meza and Juan Antonio Meza were held at Hidalgo County Jail this week, according to jail records, on possession of cocaine charges. It was unclear where the others were held.
All the suspects are scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. Monday.
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