http://www.10news.com/news/13600766/detail.html
SAN DIEGO -- A June 8 kidnapping in Chula Vista is raising fears that brazen crimes related to drug cartels south of the border are making their way north. Federal authorities rescued the victim earlier this month and took five people into custody, but are being especially closed-mouth about the crime because of its possible connection to drug traffickers, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
The house where the man was held for eight days is about a mile from where Mexican-drug-trafficking suspects shot at a Chula Vista police officer in 2005 and about 3 miles from where a body was found dumped that same year, also suspected to be the work of Mexican drug groups.
Federal agents say investigators have been tracking a series of unusual crimes around the South Bay in which the primary suspects are former members of the Tijuana-based Arellano FTlix cartel. The renegade group, apparently seeking vengeance, has been kidnapping and killing suspected Arellano members north of the border in recent years, sources told The Union-Tribune.
Relatives of the 32-year-old man kidnapped June 8 paid $200,000 in ransom, and FBI agents rescued him June 16, the newspaper reported. Growing numbers of wealthy Baja California residents, including some of the gated community where the kidnapped man was held, are living north of the border for safety reasons, the Union-Tribune reported.
Some who live in San Diego County are business owners who have been kidnapped in Mexico because they have money. Others are involved in drug trafficking, the newspaper reported
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
Semitrailer was hauling 70 illegally
This vehicle has been spotted and reported by the Campo Minutemen numerous times.
Semitrailer was hauling 70 illegally
By Kristina Davis
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
June 24, 2007
A truck driver was arrested Friday after U.S. Border Patrol agents discovered he'd hauled 70 undocumented migrants across the border in a semitrailer specially designed for human smuggling, authorities said.
The trailer was equipped with a large freezer chest, cool soda and bottled water, fans and a trapdoor in the floor to discreetly load and unload drugs or people, the Border Patrol said.
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“This is one of the most sophisticated I've seen,” Border Patrol agent Gabriel Guerrero said. “It was obviously equipped for a long trip.”
Agents received an anonymous call at 4:30 p.m. reporting a large group of people being loaded into a semitrailer in a trucking lot in Tecate near the port of entry.
The caller provided a detailed description of the red-and-white truck, down to the numbers on its side.
About two hours later, agents spotted a tractor-trailer matching the description trying to cross the Border Patrol checkpoint on state Route 94 near Dulzura.
The driver appeared nervous and was sent to a secondary inspection area, where he allowed agents to search his trailer, the Border Patrol said.
“At first, all you can see is a big wall of shredded cardboard haystacks,” Guerrero said.
Agents brushed the cardboard aside and uncovered 70 men and women hunched behind the wall.
The travel accommodations were much more comfortable than others that border inspectors have encountered in recent years. People have been smuggled in everything from piñatas and washing machines to gas tanks and hollowed-out car seats, border inspectors have reported.
In 2003, 19 immigrants died while being transported in a sealed tractor-trailer in Victoria, Texas. The trailer was not equipped with ventilation or a trapdoor, causing more than 74 people inside to swelter in deadly temperatures and claw at the insulation, gasping for air.
But Guerrero said even riding in the upgraded trailer can be perilous.
“Granted, it's more accommodating than six people being put into the trunk of a Civic, but it's still very dangerous,” Guerrero said. “On the 94, the road is very winding, and it is by no means a safe trip.”
It is unclear where the group was headed.
The undocumented migrants were taken into custody and processed at a nearby station.
The driver, whose name was not released, was arrested on suspicion of alien smuggling.
Authorities say it is common for migrants to cross the Mexican border in small groups and gather at a safe house on the U.S. side, where they join others for the trip to Los Angeles or Northern California.
Kristina Davis: (760) 476-8233; kristina.davis@uniontrib.com
Semitrailer was hauling 70 illegally
By Kristina Davis
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
June 24, 2007
A truck driver was arrested Friday after U.S. Border Patrol agents discovered he'd hauled 70 undocumented migrants across the border in a semitrailer specially designed for human smuggling, authorities said.
The trailer was equipped with a large freezer chest, cool soda and bottled water, fans and a trapdoor in the floor to discreetly load and unload drugs or people, the Border Patrol said.
Advertisement
Click Me!
“This is one of the most sophisticated I've seen,” Border Patrol agent Gabriel Guerrero said. “It was obviously equipped for a long trip.”
Agents received an anonymous call at 4:30 p.m. reporting a large group of people being loaded into a semitrailer in a trucking lot in Tecate near the port of entry.
The caller provided a detailed description of the red-and-white truck, down to the numbers on its side.
About two hours later, agents spotted a tractor-trailer matching the description trying to cross the Border Patrol checkpoint on state Route 94 near Dulzura.
The driver appeared nervous and was sent to a secondary inspection area, where he allowed agents to search his trailer, the Border Patrol said.
“At first, all you can see is a big wall of shredded cardboard haystacks,” Guerrero said.
Agents brushed the cardboard aside and uncovered 70 men and women hunched behind the wall.
The travel accommodations were much more comfortable than others that border inspectors have encountered in recent years. People have been smuggled in everything from piñatas and washing machines to gas tanks and hollowed-out car seats, border inspectors have reported.
In 2003, 19 immigrants died while being transported in a sealed tractor-trailer in Victoria, Texas. The trailer was not equipped with ventilation or a trapdoor, causing more than 74 people inside to swelter in deadly temperatures and claw at the insulation, gasping for air.
But Guerrero said even riding in the upgraded trailer can be perilous.
“Granted, it's more accommodating than six people being put into the trunk of a Civic, but it's still very dangerous,” Guerrero said. “On the 94, the road is very winding, and it is by no means a safe trip.”
It is unclear where the group was headed.
The undocumented migrants were taken into custody and processed at a nearby station.
The driver, whose name was not released, was arrested on suspicion of alien smuggling.
Authorities say it is common for migrants to cross the Mexican border in small groups and gather at a safe house on the U.S. side, where they join others for the trip to Los Angeles or Northern California.
Kristina Davis: (760) 476-8233; kristina.davis@uniontrib.com
Friday, June 22, 2007
Marijuana seized after agents catch smugglers using ramps to drive over border fence
This was today at 130-131. West of Campo, not east. One Minuteman observed, others monitored on the radio.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070621-1208-bn21drugramp.html
Marijuana seized after agents catch smugglers using ramps to drive over border fence
By Debbi Farr Baker
UNION-TRIBUNE BREAKING NEWS TEAM
12:08 p.m. June 21, 2007
U.S. Border Patrol
This photo provided by the U.S. Border Patrol shows one of the ramps used to drive across the barriers along the border.
Photo gallery
SAN DIEGO – Border Patrol agents in East County seized hundreds of pounds of marijuana valued at almost three-quarters of a million dollars Wednesday from a truck that was driven over the border on metal ramps.
An agent was patrolling the area about two miles east of Campo at 7:30 a.m. when he noticed a suspicious-looking 2006 Nissan Frontera heading westbound on state Route 94, said Supervisory Border Patrol agent Richard E. Smith.
The agent began to follow the truck but it made a U-turn and began to drive erratically, Smith said. The truck left the paved road and headed southbound on a dirt road toward Mexico.
The agent followed the truck to the border where he found about 20 people on the U.S. side erecting the ramps so the truck could get back into Mexico. Smith said the smugglers probably alerted their accomplices that they had been spotted.
The two occupants of the truck bailed out and the whole group ran back into Mexico. One of them turned and pointed a gun at the agent but did not fire, Smith said.
Agents confiscated the ramps and the pickup in which they found 60 packages of marijuana valued at $735,000.
Smith said it is not uncommon for smugglers to use metal ramps to cross the border in areas that are blocked by steel vehicle barriers. The barriers, a horizontal bar anchored to posts in the ground with large boulders beneath, are designed to stop vehicles from driving across. They are much lower than the standard border fence. Agents found a similar ramp setup last week.
The ramps may be hidden nearby or driven to a spot and assembled, Smith said.
The Border Patrol said that Mexican authorities were called after the incident but did not respond.
Debbi Baker: (619) 293-1710; debbi.baker@uniontrib.com
http://www.campominutemen.com/
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070621-1208-bn21drugramp.html
Marijuana seized after agents catch smugglers using ramps to drive over border fence
By Debbi Farr Baker
UNION-TRIBUNE BREAKING NEWS TEAM
12:08 p.m. June 21, 2007
U.S. Border Patrol
This photo provided by the U.S. Border Patrol shows one of the ramps used to drive across the barriers along the border.
Photo gallery
SAN DIEGO – Border Patrol agents in East County seized hundreds of pounds of marijuana valued at almost three-quarters of a million dollars Wednesday from a truck that was driven over the border on metal ramps.
An agent was patrolling the area about two miles east of Campo at 7:30 a.m. when he noticed a suspicious-looking 2006 Nissan Frontera heading westbound on state Route 94, said Supervisory Border Patrol agent Richard E. Smith.
The agent began to follow the truck but it made a U-turn and began to drive erratically, Smith said. The truck left the paved road and headed southbound on a dirt road toward Mexico.
The agent followed the truck to the border where he found about 20 people on the U.S. side erecting the ramps so the truck could get back into Mexico. Smith said the smugglers probably alerted their accomplices that they had been spotted.
The two occupants of the truck bailed out and the whole group ran back into Mexico. One of them turned and pointed a gun at the agent but did not fire, Smith said.
Agents confiscated the ramps and the pickup in which they found 60 packages of marijuana valued at $735,000.
Smith said it is not uncommon for smugglers to use metal ramps to cross the border in areas that are blocked by steel vehicle barriers. The barriers, a horizontal bar anchored to posts in the ground with large boulders beneath, are designed to stop vehicles from driving across. They are much lower than the standard border fence. Agents found a similar ramp setup last week.
The ramps may be hidden nearby or driven to a spot and assembled, Smith said.
The Border Patrol said that Mexican authorities were called after the incident but did not respond.
Debbi Baker: (619) 293-1710; debbi.baker@uniontrib.com
http://www.campominutemen.com/
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
JAMES L. CHASE- WAR HERO & MINUTEMAN ( AN UNSUNG HERO )
HISTORY : The book
THE HILL FIGHTS The First Battle of Khe Sanh
( Note: I have learned since, there were errors in the book. Later ,it was determined the some heroic actionsof Chase, in the confusion of the battle, were in some instants mistakenly attribued to the Staff Sergeant, when it should have been to James Chase. )
Edward F. Murphy Author of Semper Fi--Vietnam
Ballantine Publishing 2003---- ISBN: 0-89141-810-5
( a few high lights )
from page 35
Lance Corporal Chase with two other grunts took up the rear of the column, Kurtz was one
of the few grunts Chase allowed himself to get close to. A Marine since his eighteenth birthday in September 1965, Chase had been in South Vietnam for more than a year. In that time he had learned the intense pain of losing friends , so he made few new ones; the fewer he knew, the less sorrow he suffered.
from page 36
At the first sound of firing, the three men hit the dirt, After listening for several minutes, Chase realized this was no ordinary ambush. He turned to another Marine, " We're going up front. They'll need us".
Chase , and another Marine, dashed forward , hitting the ground several times as they drew closer to the (S. Sgt ) . "Slow down will ya", the other fellow admonished, " I'm a married man and I am in no hurry to die ".
By the time they linked up with the (Staff Sergeant), the enemy fire from higher on the hill had increased substantially . Above the din Chase was told to bring in the Artillery . Chase started the rounds on the eastern slope of HIll 861 , then walked them over the top.
The rounds exploded with a satisfying KABOOM! The (S.Sgt ) had then made contact
with a flight of Marine jets. He had to scream into the mike to be heard over the roar
of he fire fight.
He glanced up at ( the enemy ) and his heart stopped.----"I couldn't believe what I saw.
The gooks were charging right down the hill at us," the (S.Sgt.) said, Yelling and firing their AK-47's the North Vietnamese soldiers assaulted right into the Marines. The( S. Sgt) shoved the radio hand set at Chase. "Tell him where we're are at " turning back to the fight.
One determined NVA spraying fie with his assault rifle, headed straight at the S. Sgt )
The enemy rounds hit his weapon , tore into his flak jacket , and struck the ground all around him. Undaunted the (S. Sgt) stood his ground firing back. He shot the enemy soldier at least six times, but the man kept coming . Finally the NVA dropped , and rolled right on top of the ( S.Sgt) . Lance Corporal Chase, who had never directed an air strike before, had given the jets their position. Under (Chase's ) direction they circled wide to make their way in from the west . Chase carefully guided them in. "Come on , Come on.
Come on", he urged . Just as the F-4's reached the drop point , Chase screamed into
the mike " ABORT". They looked to close for comfort.
( Chase had tried it again, but had to order them to abort again. They were going to drop
"danger close" to his men.)
As the jets lined up again, the S Sgt glanced up the trail . A horrified sight chilled him. Up and down the trail , enemy soldiers darted and dashed around, shooting Marines in the back and dropping grenades right on the helpless , wounded me. They were so close ,
firing was endangering his own men
Suddenly, the roar of the incoming jets grabbed attention, two planes were coming in at
tree top level right at them. They were going to hit him and his men. "Get down ! " He screamed to those around him.
Chase had brought the jets in a third time. "Come on. Come on." he led them in . This time though , when they neared , he yelled , " DROP'EM !" . The glistening napalm canisters were coming right at him. I've really fu*ked up, he thought as he curled into a ball.
The jet jockeys were good. The pilots , jets now rushed by in a deafening blur just feet above the desperate Marines, had released their napalm at precisely the right moment. Tumbling end over end, the silvery pods landed smack in the center of the NVA.
One second the hillside was green jungle filled with firing NVA; the next, oily black -laced flames engulfed everything. The NAV did not even have a chance to scream . I ended that fast.
The intensity of the a blast stunned Chase. " I'd never been closer to napalm than five hundred meters before " he said. " This ws like fifty."
Another danger, the napalm started others fires that were now threatening the wounded
Marines.
from page 38
Chase, who had taken a grenade fragments in the shoulder, joined ( with another ) and helped seriously wounded over the hill to the L Z .
He learned there, that his friend Kurtz , was K I A.
from page 39
Chase and another Marine had been carrying a casualty toward the chopper when he spotted Doc Benoit crouched on the rear ramp, treating yet another casualty.
As Chase grew closer, he saw columns of earth erupt from the mortar attack. He dropped his end of the poncho and dove head first into a near by hole. A shell went off right next to
him. Hot metal from the round tore into his right thigh, right arm , and side . He slumped
deeper into his hole.
"The next thing I knew two guys were trying to help me. looked around. The chopper was gone !!!! Doc Benoit was laying in a heap where it had been. Several newly wounded
guys staggered round the L Z, blood pouring from their wounds.----- It was horrible. Then I
remembered the radioman.
Shrugging off the two Marines, Chase found his radioman lying at the foot of a tree stump.
He still held his radio's hand set, a few inches of torn wire dangling from it base. Blood poured from holes in his abdomen and pelvic area. "Check and see if I'm all there , willya?"
His genitals were intact. Soon corpsmen started treating the radioman.
from page 40
The (SSgt) radioed the( commanding officer) "Echo Six, I gotta stop the medevacs. The gooks are hitting us every time one comes in. I don't have enough men left to carry the casualties . Get me some help out here." ( he was assured he would get help )
IN the meantime , despite his wounds , Lance Corporal Chase took up a position down hill from the L Z. " I didn't want the NVA sneaking up on us from that side, so I fired downhill when ever I thought they might be"
At abut 1500 , Chase spotted movement below him. He held his fire. Soon, a green clad column of Marines came into view. It was ( reinforcements) he waved, and yelled "over here., over here" ! He started down hill a few meters to meet them, when Chase heard
the unmistakable whine of a mortar round .
"INCOMING" he yelled , then turned and ran up the hill. His wounds kept him from scrunching down a hole, so he sought refuge behind a tree. He covered his head with his
hands and mortar rounds flew overhead. They exploded with devastating effect among
the (reinforcement Marines) When the barrage ended, Chase looked downhill. His eyes found a ghastly sight. --- Dead and wounded Marine lay everywhere. Cries of pain rose from the still smoky ground. The few uninjured moves about as if in a daze, over whelmed by the carnage.
from page 41
Passing in and out of consciousness, Chase arranged for some of he newly arrived Marines to carry ( his radioman ) to the new L Z too. he crouched in th brush a safe distance away. Only when the chopper started to accelerate its rotors to take off, did Chase move forward. Hobbling along, right leg stiff, Chase made it to the back ramp. He collapsed
in a heap on the metal floor. For the first time since that morning, a corpsman tended to his wounds .------------Chase had caught the last flight out.
There is much more to this story, but that is for another time.
Appendix:, page 259
JAMES L. CHASE, JR. (B/2/9) spent more than a month in the hospital recovering from his wounds . He was discharged in September 1968 and went to work for the postal service.--- In 1997 he suffered a breakdown and was diagnosed with PTSD. -- He now receives 100 percent diability. He resides with his wife in Oceanside, California.
THE HILL FIGHTS The First Battle of Khe Sanh
( Note: I have learned since, there were errors in the book. Later ,it was determined the some heroic actionsof Chase, in the confusion of the battle, were in some instants mistakenly attribued to the Staff Sergeant, when it should have been to James Chase. )
Edward F. Murphy Author of Semper Fi--Vietnam
Ballantine Publishing 2003---- ISBN: 0-89141-810-5
( a few high lights )
from page 35
Lance Corporal Chase with two other grunts took up the rear of the column, Kurtz was one
of the few grunts Chase allowed himself to get close to. A Marine since his eighteenth birthday in September 1965, Chase had been in South Vietnam for more than a year. In that time he had learned the intense pain of losing friends , so he made few new ones; the fewer he knew, the less sorrow he suffered.
from page 36
At the first sound of firing, the three men hit the dirt, After listening for several minutes, Chase realized this was no ordinary ambush. He turned to another Marine, " We're going up front. They'll need us".
Chase , and another Marine, dashed forward , hitting the ground several times as they drew closer to the (S. Sgt ) . "Slow down will ya", the other fellow admonished, " I'm a married man and I am in no hurry to die ".
By the time they linked up with the (Staff Sergeant), the enemy fire from higher on the hill had increased substantially . Above the din Chase was told to bring in the Artillery . Chase started the rounds on the eastern slope of HIll 861 , then walked them over the top.
The rounds exploded with a satisfying KABOOM! The (S.Sgt ) had then made contact
with a flight of Marine jets. He had to scream into the mike to be heard over the roar
of he fire fight.
He glanced up at ( the enemy ) and his heart stopped.----"I couldn't believe what I saw.
The gooks were charging right down the hill at us," the (S.Sgt.) said, Yelling and firing their AK-47's the North Vietnamese soldiers assaulted right into the Marines. The( S. Sgt) shoved the radio hand set at Chase. "Tell him where we're are at " turning back to the fight.
One determined NVA spraying fie with his assault rifle, headed straight at the S. Sgt )
The enemy rounds hit his weapon , tore into his flak jacket , and struck the ground all around him. Undaunted the (S. Sgt) stood his ground firing back. He shot the enemy soldier at least six times, but the man kept coming . Finally the NVA dropped , and rolled right on top of the ( S.Sgt) . Lance Corporal Chase, who had never directed an air strike before, had given the jets their position. Under (Chase's ) direction they circled wide to make their way in from the west . Chase carefully guided them in. "Come on , Come on.
Come on", he urged . Just as the F-4's reached the drop point , Chase screamed into
the mike " ABORT". They looked to close for comfort.
( Chase had tried it again, but had to order them to abort again. They were going to drop
"danger close" to his men.)
As the jets lined up again, the S Sgt glanced up the trail . A horrified sight chilled him. Up and down the trail , enemy soldiers darted and dashed around, shooting Marines in the back and dropping grenades right on the helpless , wounded me. They were so close ,
firing was endangering his own men
Suddenly, the roar of the incoming jets grabbed attention, two planes were coming in at
tree top level right at them. They were going to hit him and his men. "Get down ! " He screamed to those around him.
Chase had brought the jets in a third time. "Come on. Come on." he led them in . This time though , when they neared , he yelled , " DROP'EM !" . The glistening napalm canisters were coming right at him. I've really fu*ked up, he thought as he curled into a ball.
The jet jockeys were good. The pilots , jets now rushed by in a deafening blur just feet above the desperate Marines, had released their napalm at precisely the right moment. Tumbling end over end, the silvery pods landed smack in the center of the NVA.
One second the hillside was green jungle filled with firing NVA; the next, oily black -laced flames engulfed everything. The NAV did not even have a chance to scream . I ended that fast.
The intensity of the a blast stunned Chase. " I'd never been closer to napalm than five hundred meters before " he said. " This ws like fifty."
Another danger, the napalm started others fires that were now threatening the wounded
Marines.
from page 38
Chase, who had taken a grenade fragments in the shoulder, joined ( with another ) and helped seriously wounded over the hill to the L Z .
He learned there, that his friend Kurtz , was K I A.
from page 39
Chase and another Marine had been carrying a casualty toward the chopper when he spotted Doc Benoit crouched on the rear ramp, treating yet another casualty.
As Chase grew closer, he saw columns of earth erupt from the mortar attack. He dropped his end of the poncho and dove head first into a near by hole. A shell went off right next to
him. Hot metal from the round tore into his right thigh, right arm , and side . He slumped
deeper into his hole.
"The next thing I knew two guys were trying to help me. looked around. The chopper was gone !!!! Doc Benoit was laying in a heap where it had been. Several newly wounded
guys staggered round the L Z, blood pouring from their wounds.----- It was horrible. Then I
remembered the radioman.
Shrugging off the two Marines, Chase found his radioman lying at the foot of a tree stump.
He still held his radio's hand set, a few inches of torn wire dangling from it base. Blood poured from holes in his abdomen and pelvic area. "Check and see if I'm all there , willya?"
His genitals were intact. Soon corpsmen started treating the radioman.
from page 40
The (SSgt) radioed the( commanding officer) "Echo Six, I gotta stop the medevacs. The gooks are hitting us every time one comes in. I don't have enough men left to carry the casualties . Get me some help out here." ( he was assured he would get help )
IN the meantime , despite his wounds , Lance Corporal Chase took up a position down hill from the L Z. " I didn't want the NVA sneaking up on us from that side, so I fired downhill when ever I thought they might be"
At abut 1500 , Chase spotted movement below him. He held his fire. Soon, a green clad column of Marines came into view. It was ( reinforcements) he waved, and yelled "over here., over here" ! He started down hill a few meters to meet them, when Chase heard
the unmistakable whine of a mortar round .
"INCOMING" he yelled , then turned and ran up the hill. His wounds kept him from scrunching down a hole, so he sought refuge behind a tree. He covered his head with his
hands and mortar rounds flew overhead. They exploded with devastating effect among
the (reinforcement Marines) When the barrage ended, Chase looked downhill. His eyes found a ghastly sight. --- Dead and wounded Marine lay everywhere. Cries of pain rose from the still smoky ground. The few uninjured moves about as if in a daze, over whelmed by the carnage.
from page 41
Passing in and out of consciousness, Chase arranged for some of he newly arrived Marines to carry ( his radioman ) to the new L Z too. he crouched in th brush a safe distance away. Only when the chopper started to accelerate its rotors to take off, did Chase move forward. Hobbling along, right leg stiff, Chase made it to the back ramp. He collapsed
in a heap on the metal floor. For the first time since that morning, a corpsman tended to his wounds .------------Chase had caught the last flight out.
There is much more to this story, but that is for another time.
Appendix:, page 259
JAMES L. CHASE, JR. (B/2/9) spent more than a month in the hospital recovering from his wounds . He was discharged in September 1968 and went to work for the postal service.--- In 1997 he suffered a breakdown and was diagnosed with PTSD. -- He now receives 100 percent diability. He resides with his wife in Oceanside, California.
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