CBP Officers Catch Illegal Alien Wanted for Child Molestation

Tecate, Calif. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Tecate port of entry recently apprehended a 32-year-old male Mexican citizen wanted in Georgia, for molestation of a minor.

On Thursday, June 7, the man entered the Tecate port of entry as a pedestrian and presented a U.S. naturalization certificate to a CBP officer. The officer suspected the man was not the legal owner of the document and referred him for further inspection.

During a more in-depth inspection, officers used his fingerprints to positively identify him as Gabriel Santillan-Gonzalez. A search of law enforcement databases also revealed a no-bail felony warrant for his arrest for child molestation.

After confirming the warrant with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office in Canton, Georgia, officers transported Santillan to the San Diego County jail pending extradition.

CBP officers determined that Santillan was an illegal alien with no legal documents to enter the U.S. He attempted to use someone else’s legitimate naturalization certificate to illegally enter the United States and evade capture.

“CBP protects the American public and our local community when we enforce the law at our nation’s borders,” said Chris Maston, Director of Field Operations in San Diego. “Because of the vigilance of a CBP officer spotting this imposter, a fugitive wanted on child molestation charges is now behind bars."

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

Tulsa Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Cherokee County Bank Robbery

WICHITA, KS—A Tulsa man has been sentenced to 52 months n federal prison for robbing a bank in Cherokee County, Kansas, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

Roland D. Ross, 23, Tulsa, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery. In his plea, Ross admitted that on July 21, 2011, he and another man robbed the CBW Bank in Weir, Kansas. Witness statements indicated the other robber had a red hand towel over his hand as if to conceal a gun and warned a teller that she needed to move more quickly or she would be shot. The robbers fled with the stolen money in a small, gold car. They were arrested later that afternoon in Webb City, Missouri. Investigators found marked money from the bank robbery in their possession.

Co-defendant Derrick D. McDonald, 39, Tulsa, Oklahoma, is awaiting jury trial.

Grissom commended the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, the Webb City Police Department, the FBI, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch for their work on the case.

Defendant Pleads Guilty to Lying to FBI Agents About Plans to Hire Hit Man to Murder Competing Butcher

Defendant Tried to Hire Undercover Officer to Assassinate Rival Butcher

ATLANTA—JAVIER ACOSTA-CAUDILLO, 37, of Woodstock, Georgia, pled guilty today to lying to a federal agent concerning his role in a murder-for-hire scheme.

“Every day, federal agents conduct investigations of serious criminal conduct that threatens the safety of our community. Agents depend upon the honesty of the people they interview to make sure that they can act quickly and appropriately in preventing criminal behavior—especially in cases like this one, where the defendant was planning a murder-for-hire scheme. Cases like this demonstrate why it is a criminal offense to intentionally lie to agents conducting their investigations,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates.

Cherokee County Sheriff Roger Garrison said, “We are pleased with the outcome of this investigation and with the subsequent guilty plea by this defendant today in federal court. We appreciate the assistance from the FBI and federal prosecutors in this matter.”

According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges, and other publicly available information: In April of this year, the FBI and Cherokee County authorities learned that an individual who turned out to be ACOSTA was searching for someone to help him with a murder-for-hire scheme. ACOSTA had been tasked by a local butcher to “eliminate” a competitor by having the competitor killed. ACOSTA discussed his need to find a “hit man” with a friend who subsequently reported the plan to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office. This cooperating individual was directed to record any additional conversations he had with ACOSTA on this topic.

After several other conversations between ACOSTA and the cooperating official, the sheriff’s office and the FBI directed the cooperating individual to inform ACOSTA that he had found a potential hit man. This would-be killer was in fact an undercover officer. ACOSTA spoke with this officer several times, to include one face-to-face meeting in early June. At this in-person meeting, ACOSTA explained that the unnamed target was trying to steal some of his employer’s butcher business and needed to be shot and killed. The two agreed on a contract price of $5,000, with $3,000 to be paid up front.

After the in-person meeting, ACOSTA became harder to reach and eventually stopped returning the undercover officer’s calls. The FBI confronted ACOSTA, who denied any knowledge of a murder-for-hire scheme, denied having met the undercover officer, and denied having agreed to pay the officer $5,000.

After he was arrested on state false statement charges, ACOSTA, through counsel, asked to meet with the FBI again to discuss his case. At this meeting, ACOSTA admitted that he had lied to the FBI agents the first time around, and that he did in fact seek to hire the undercover officer to kill the alleged meat market rival. ACOSTA remained adamant that he never learned the name of the intended victim, as the scheme collapsed before his employer had informed him of the target’s identity. Today in court, ACOSTA admitted lying to the agent, and told the court he had been working at a food outlet in Woodstock at the time of the incident. The investigation is ongoing.

ACOSTA was arrested on the present federal false statement charges on June 21, 2011. His sentencing is scheduled for December 14, 2011, at 11 a.m. He faces up to five years in prison for his false statements to the agents and officers. He is also subject to deportation. In determining the actual sentence, the court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding, but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and its Safe Streets Task Force, and the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant United States Attorney Robert McBurney is prosecuting the case.

For further information, please contact Sally Q. Yates, United States Attorney, or Charysse L. Alexander, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Attorney’s Office, at (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.justice.gov/usao/gan.