A former New Mexico judge and his wife allegedly tried to hide incriminating images and videos of an illegal immigrant believed to be a member of Venezuela’s notorious Tren de Aragua gang and harbored other migrants, the Justice Department said Friday.
Former Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Joel Cano, 68, and his wife, Nancy Cano, 67, were arrested Thursday after federal agents raided their Las Cruces home. The pair face charges of evidence tampering amid allegations they harbored Cristhian Ortega-Lopez.
“Judges are responsible for upholding our country’s laws. It is beyond egregious for a former judge and his wife to engage in evidence tampering on behalf of a suspected Tren de Aragua gang member accused of illegally possessing firearms,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to dismantling this foreign terrorist organization by disrupting its criminal operations in New Mexico. That starts by prosecuting those who support gang members — including judges.”
EX-NEW MEXICO JUDGE, WIFE ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY HARBORING ILLEGAL TREN DE ARAGUA MEMBER
Ortega-Lopez was put on the Department of Homeland Security‘s (DHS) radar after a tipster said he was in the U.S. illegally and had guns. He initially entered the country Dec. 15, 2023, near Eagle Pass, Texas. He was taken into custody and released due to overcrowding at the U.S. Border Patrol facility.
Ortega-Lopez apparently posted multiple images and videos on social media showing him with other illegal immigrants handling guns at a shooting range in Las Cruces, federal prosecutors said. Among the weapons were a SIG Sauer P365 pistol, an AR-15 rifle equipped with a suppressor and other high-powered guns and ammunition.
NEW MEXICO JUDGE RESIGNS AFTER ALLEGED TDA MEMBER ARRESTED AT HIS HOME
His social media activity revealed content suggesting ties with the Venezuelan gang, including gang-related tattoos, hand gestures and clothing, prosecutors said. He also mocked a $5,000 reward to catch TdA members, Attorney General Pam Bondi said.
Among the images were also two people who were decapitated, she said.
In January, federal agents received a tip that Ortega-Lopez was living with other illegal immigrants on a property belonging to Cano, who was still a judge at the time, and his wife.
Authorities seized four guns during a Feb. 28 search of the property.
The four guns, along with three cellphones belonging to Ortega-Lopez, were seized, and he was arrested. During the search, Ortega-Lopez was allowed to make a phone call before being taken to the Doña Ana County Detention Center (DACDC).
He told the agents that the phone he wanted to use was not among the devices recovered. Video calls from DACDC later showed Nancy Cano holding a black iPhone believed to be Ortega’s fourth phone, prosecutors said.
During a March 7 call with Ortega-Lopez, Nancy Cano allegedly used the device to contact someone named “Michelle” via WhatsApp, before facilitating a FaceTime call between Michelle and Ortega-Lopez using her personal phone.
In an April 20 call, Nancy Cano and Ortega-Lopez discussed deleting his Facebook account, which he allegedly used to share incriminating content, including gang affiliations and images with guns.
On April 24, federal agents searched the Cano home to locate Ortega-Lopez’s missing phone. During questioning, Joel Cano admitted smashing the device with a hammer five weeks earlier because he believed it contained incriminating photos and videos of Ortega-Lopez with guns, and throwing it into a dumpster, said Bondi.
A forensic analysis of the recovered phones revealed messages linked to Ortega’s alleged criminal activities, including links with the TdA gang and images of him with guns, authorities said.
Joel and Nancy Cano face up to 15 years in prison.
FBI ARRESTS WISCONSIN JUDGE, ALLEGING SHE OBSTRUCTED ARREST OF ILLEGAL ALIEN
“The rule of law is very simple: It doesn’t matter what line of work you’re in. If you break the law, we will follow the facts, and we will prosecute you,” Bondi said in a video message Friday.
Another judge arrested for allegedly interfering in the arrest of an illegal immigrant in Wisconsin also faces federal charges. Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan, 65, allegedly confronted federal agents inside a courthouse April 18 and ordered them to leave as they were trying to arrest Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a Mexican citizen who was previously deported and recently charged with multiple counts of domestic abuse-related battery.
Flores-Ruiz allegedly punched a man 30 times and struck a woman, Bondi said. Both victims were in court when Dugan learned that ICE was outside to arrest him.
“After being made aware of a valid immigration arrest warrant, Judge Dugan told agents that they needed a judicial warrant and demanded that they go to the Chief Judge’s office, the Justice Department said in a news release Friday. “Once the agents were no longer in the vicinity of her courtroom, Judge Dugan allegedly elected not to conduct a hearing on Flores-Ruiz’s criminal case despite the fact that victims of his offense were present and instead personally escorted Flores-Ruiz and his attorney through a restricted ‘jury door’ exit not typically used by defendants or attorneys.”
The doorway led to a nonpublic hallway, which Flores-Ruiz and his attorney used to leave Dugan’s courtroom, prosecutors said. He was eventually arrested outside the courthouse after a brief foot chase.
Dugan is charged with obstruction of proceedings before a department or agency of the United States and concealing a person to prevent arrest. She faces up to six years in prison.
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Flores-Ruiz was previously deported in 2013 and reentered the U.S. illegally, authorities said.
“Sanctuary jurisdictions that shield criminal aliens endanger American communities,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “This Justice Department will not stand by as local officials put politics over public safety. Reckless sanctuary city policies create a sanctuary for one class — criminals. Those days are over.”
