Thursday, April 17, 2008

Johnny Suttons' Star Witness To Plead Guilty

Remember the Border Patrol Agents Ramos and Compean? Well guess what! The drug mule was brought back to the United States, given immunity, and the opportunity to disprove the notion that crime doesn't pay is pleading guilty to the second incident of drug smuggling. Yep! You read right! The incident that was forbidden from being discussed at the Border Agents' trial because it may hurt the drug mule's credibility has come to a close. Here is the Washington Times' report (1st page anyway);

"A Mexican national who was shot by two Border Patrol agents but later was charged with smuggling marijuana is expected to plead guilty to those charges today in federal court in El Paso, Texas, The Washington Times has learned.
Osvaldo Aldrete Davila, whose testimony against Border Patrol Agents Ignacio "Nacho" Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean led to their conviction in March 2006, was apprehended by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) last year at the international port of entry in El Paso, after witnesses identified him in a second drug-smuggling operation.
Ramos and Compean are serving 11 and 12 years, respectively.
"He decided to take the plea," said a source close to the case who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the case and ongoing appeals of the two border agents. "He admitted to the two loads. Davila is looking at six to 10 years."
Court records show that Aldrete Davila is scheduled to plead guilty at the federal courthouse in El Paso at 3 p.m. local time.
The imprisoned agents, who already have spent more than a year in solitary confinement for their protection, appealed their case to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans in December.
The 5th Circuit still has not returned a decision in the case, in which federal prosecutors admitted to the three-judge panel that Aldrete Davila lied.
"He told some lies," said Mark Stelmach, the assistant U.S. attorney who represented the government...."

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I'm interested to see how long it takes for this story to make the local news circuit.

1 comment:

Rorschach said...

This little blurb ran on Thursday:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/5711059.html

" April 17, 2008, 11:26PM
Man shot by border agents pleads guilty to drug smuggling

Associated Press

EL PASO — An illegal immigrant shot by a pair of former U.S. Border Patrol agents says he's guilty of drug smuggling.

Osvaldo Aldrete Davila pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges of smuggling marijuana into the United States months after being shot by former agents Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos. The former agents are serving lengthy prison terms after being convicted of charges that they shot Aldrete and lied about it.

Aldrete will be sentenced in July."