An Arizona woman with Secure Electronic Network for Traveler's Rapid Inspection (SENTRI) status has been arrested for smuggling drugs across the border.
The woman, identified as Maria Valle was arrested after a canine agent alerted to possible drugs in her car.
Border Patrol agents with the Port of San Luis searched Valle's car and found 15.5 pounds of cocaine hidden in Valle's purse. The six packages are worth an estimated $141,000.
Valle, her vehicle, and the packets of cocaine were turned over to U.S. ICE/HSI officials for processing.
"SENTRI members are treated with a higher level of trust, but are not exempt from inspection." said Acting Port Director Robert L. Schroeder, in a recent news release. "Violations such as drug smuggling will not be tolerated and those attempting to exploit the program will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
SENTRI, part of a trusted-traveler program, allows members access to a dedicated commuter lane that expedites the inspection process for low-risk travelers. Qualification for the program requires an extensive background check and in-person interview.
The hospital receptionist who was hoaxed by a prank call from a DJ claiming to be the queen asking about Kate Middleton has been found dead.
"It is with very deep sadness that we confirm the tragic death of a member of our nursing staff," the hospital said in a statement released today.
The nurse was identified as Jacintha Saldanha. The hospital said that Saldanha worked at the hospital for more than four years. They called her an "first-class nurse" and "a well-respected and popular member of the staff."
"We can confirm that Jacintha was recently the victim of a hoax call to the hospital," the statement said. "The hospital had been supporting her throughout this difficult time."
The hospital extended their "deepest sympathies" to family and friends, saying that "everyone is shocked" at this "tragic event."
"She will be greatly missed," the hospital said.
Earlier this week, the hospital fell for a prank call from an Australian radio show where the hosts pretended to be Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles looking to speak to Kate Middleton, who had been admitted to the hospital for her pregnancy. The call was put through to a second nurse who told the royal impersonators that Kate was "quite stable" and hadn't "had any retching."
The duchess spent three days at the hospital undergoing treatment for hyperemesis gravidarum, severe or debilitating nausea and vomiting. She was released from the hospital on Thursday morning.
The Tuesday morning prank call came from Australian DJ's Mel Greig and Michael Christian. They impersonated the royals, complete with exaggerated accents. They even enlisted two co-workers to bark like the queen's pet corgis.
The queen impersonator asked for her granddaughter and was promptly transferred to another hospital employee.
"I'm just after my granddaughter, Kate. I want to see how her little tummy bug is going," the radio host said, suppressing laughter.
"She's sleeping at the moment, and she has had an uneventful night and sleep is good for her," the nurse said. "She's been getting some fluids to rehydrate her because she was quite dehydrated when she came in, but she's stable at the moment."
The fake royals went on to ask when would be a good time to visit and were told that "anytime after 9 o'clock would be suitable."
"She's quite stable at the moment. She hasn't had any retching ... since I've been on duty. And she has been sleeping on and off. I think it's difficult sleeping in a strange bed as well," the nurse said.
The hospital apologized for the mistake.
"The call was transferred through to a ward, and a short conversation was held with one of the nursing staff," the hospital said in a statement. "King Edward VII's Hospital deeply regrets this incident."
"This was a foolish prank call that we all deplore," John Lofthouse, the hospital's chief executive, said in the statement. "We take patient confidentiality extremely seriously, and we are now reviewing our telephone protocols."
The radio station has since apologized for the prank call.
"2Day FM sincerely apologizes for any inconvenience caused by the inquiry to Kate's hospital. The radio segment was done with lighthearted intentions," the station said in a statement.
"We were very surprised that our call was put through. We thought we'd be hung up on as soon as they heard our terrible accents," the radio hosts said in the statement. "We're very sorry if we've caused any issues, and we're glad to hear that Kate is doing well. We wish Kate and her family all the best."
A federal judge ordered Abdullatif Aldosary -- the Coolidge resident accused of detonating an "explosive device" outside the Social Security Administration building in Casa Grande Friday morning -- to be held without bond.
In the detention order, the magistrate judge says Aldosary there's no possible way that Aldosary could be released that would assure public safety.
Aldosary -- an Iraqi refugee -- does face deportation proceedings, the order says. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer has been lodged against him, so Aldosary will likely deal with all that once this case is over.
Aldosary is facing a minimum prison sentence of five years, and a maximum sentence of 20 years, the order states.
Aldosary's been arrested at least twice before, with the most recent incident taking place at a gym in Casa Grande in August.
Aldosary allegedly "displayed pornographic pictures and struck a man," according to a blurb published in the Casa Grande Dispatch at the time, and police refused to elaborate on the details after the bombing last week.
He also landed in prison for a few months in 2008, related to harassment of his former employer, a Gilbert construction company.
According to a minute entry from the court proceedings, Aldosary sent letters to the company and its employees -- despite an existing restraining order against him -- and two of those letters "were accompanied by sexually explicit photographs."
The owner of the company believed Aldosary "perhaps had ties to terrorist organizations," although a judge noted that he wasn't charged with any such conduct.
12-06) 17:42 PST ANTIOCH --
Three men looking for clothes stolen from an Antioch apartment complex laundry room shot and killed a man who wasn't involved in the theft, police said Thursday. Boise Alexander Duggan and Jeremy Mark Griffin, both 24, and Johntue Felix Hinds, 28, have each been arrested and charged with murder and assault with a firearm in the Nov. 14 slaying of Juan Jose Hernandez.
Griffin, who lives in Oakley, was also charged by Contra Costa County prosecutors with being a felon in possession of a gun and dissuading a witness. He and Duggan, a Concord resident, are also being held on alleged parole violations.
The incident began when Griffin, Duggan and a third person found that their clothes were missing from a laundry room at the Delta Pines apartment complex at 2301 Sycamore Drive, said acting police Sgt. Santiago Castillo.
Griffin, Duggan and Hinds, an Antioch resident, then went to a unit where they believed the thief was staying, Castillo said.
"There were multiple people inside the apartment at the time, which included the victim, who had nothing to do with the theft of the laundry," Castillo said.
An argument erupted, during which Hernandez was shot dead.
All three defendants are being held without bail at County Jail in Martinez.
TEMPE, AZ - Tempe police have called off the search for missing Arizona State University student Jack Culolias.
Spokesman Michael Pooley with Tempe police said they didn’t find anything Thursday.
The 19-year-old ASU freshman was last seen Friday night leaving Tempe Marketplace after he was asked to leave the Cadillac Ranch bar, according to police.
His wallet and cell phone were left at the business.
But Pooley said Culolias was not seen leaving the bar or parking lot in surveillance videos.
Investigators have talked to fraternity members Culolias was with Friday night and say they've gotten conflicting information. Culolias was reportedly celebrating the start of ASU's Hell Week. He was a pledge for Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
Thursday morning’s search got help from four K-9 teams from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.
The ground search went from around the McClintock bridge to almost Dobson Road along the lake near the ASU Tempe campus.
A shoe was found along the river bank the other day, and Pooley said it’s still being processed.
He said police hope to learn by next week if the shoe belongs to Culolias.
About 200 students and concerned residents came to the area near Tempe Marketplace late Wednesday night to hold hands and pray.
Anyone with any information regarding Culolias is encouraged to contact Tempe police by calling 480-350-8311, or you can submit a tip anonymously online on tempe.gov.
MOSCOW: A television news presenter aged 28 was shot dead in a city centre in Russia'svolatile North Caucasus, the latest deadly attack against a journalist in the region, officials said on Thursday.
Meanwhile a senior regional transportation official in the same region barely escaped an attempt on his life, authorities said.
The two incidents occurred within several hours of each other Wednesday in the city of Nalchik, the regional centre of the Kabardino-Balkaria region, although it was not clear whether they were linked.
The 28-year-old journalist Kazbek Gekkiyev was gunned down on Wednesday evening at about 9pm (1700 GMT) as he was returning from work, the regional interior ministry said.
Gekkiyev was a news presenter at the regional branch of state channel VGTRK, but shocked colleagues said he never covered any controversial subjects that could offend anyone.
Unknown assailants shot him three times, and the journalist died on the spot, said the Moscow-based Investigative Committee.
"The investigation considers ... this brazen crime was a warning to other journalists who are reporting on the results of the fight against the bandit underground groups operating in the region," the committee said.
Gekkiyev's employer said it was cancelling all of its entertainment and news programmes to mourn him.
"Today there will be no news on our channel," the head of the regional branch Lyudmila Kazancheva said in a special segment dedicated to Gekkiyev that broadcast his smiling photographs.
"He was young, talented, intelligent and beautiful. He is no longer with us," she said in a shaky voice.
VGTRK's federal news report shown in Moscow said Gekkiyev's assailants apparently made sure he worked for the news program before opening fire.
"Two men approached him and asked: 'Are you the television presenter?'" a woman introduced by the VGTRK channel as Gekkiyev's relative said, quoting a witness of the murder.
He answered affirmatively, and the men shot him with an automatic gun, the woman said.
Several hundred people gathered at the young man's funeral in his native village, it said, showing crowds of people mourning and praying in the countryside.
Two of Gekkiyev's former colleagues at the channel were threatened by militants in February, according to the Glasnost Defence Foundation.
On Thursday morning assailants also targeted the regional deputy transportation minister Vladislav Dyachenko, whose car exploded when he was getting into it to go to work at around 9am, regional police said.
The bomb that targeted his car contained about 200 grammes of TNT hidden in an empty beer can, police said in a statement.
Dyachenko was only lightly wounded, and his driver was unharmed.
The North Caucasus sees near daily attacks that officials blame on militants seeking to establish an Islamic state across the region.
In the past, Kabardino-Balkaria has been less affected by the violence than Chechnya and Dagestan, where a prominent opposition journalist, Khadzhimurad Kamalov, was murdered last December
Border Patrol agent in
Arizona allegedly smuggled drugs in patrol vehicle
BRIAN SKOLOFF,Associated PressAssociated
Press
Posted: 12/05/2012 08:24:08 AM MST
PHOENIX (AP) - A U.S. Border Patrol
agent has been arrested after authorities say he used his patrol vehicle to
smuggle drugs while on duty in southwest Arizona, according to a federal
complaint.
Aaron Anaya was on patrol Sunday evening when he stopped along the
international border, then loaded up several bundles of marijuana that had been
dropped over the fence from Mexico, according to the complaint filed this week
in federal court in Arizona.
Agents assigned to the Southwest Border Corruption Task Force had been
conducting aerial surveillance in the area between Yuma and Wellton, about 185
miles southwest of Phoenix, when they spotted Anaya stop along the fence and
retrieve the bundles, the complaint states. It does not say whether Anaya was
the target of the initial surveillance or merely observed during the overall
operation.
Authorities say the task force continued to track Anaya for several hours as
he appeared to return to normal patrol duties.
The complaint says the agent was later arrested with nearly 147 pounds of
marijuana found in three black duffel bags in his Border Patrol vehicle.
He is charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana and
carrying a firearm - his service weapons - while committing the crime.
Asked if he was willing to speak to investigators, Anaya responded with an
expletive, then said, "You guys got me on video," before asking for an attorney,
according to the complaint.
Anaya's federal public defender didn't
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immediately return a telephone message Tuesday. His telephone number
wasn't listed. Union representatives for the Border Patrol's Yuma sector didn't
respond to emails.
The FBI, which was part of the task force, declined to discuss the case.
Yuma Sector Chief Border Patrol Agent Stephen S. Martin said the agency will
fully cooperate with investigators.
"While I am sorely disappointed by the alleged conduct of one of our own, I
appreciate the efforts by our law enforcement partners and our own agents to
uncover those that violate their oath of office, and hold them accountable for
their actions," Martin said in a statement Tuesday.
