By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Two men believed to be involved in a series of recent robberies of undocumented immigrants in and along the Rio Grande have been arrested, Val Verde County Sheriff’s Office officials said.
The sheriff’s office, Texas Department of Public Safety and Border Patrol since late April have documented a series of immigrant robberies, in which immigrants reported they were robbed in or near the Rio Grande as they attempted to cross the river into the United States.
VVSO Lt. Gina Garcia, who heads the sheriff’s office criminal investigations division, said while some of those robberies occurred on the Mexico side of the river, and in at least one case, on an island in the center of the river, some have also occurred on the U.S. side.
“Robberies are occurring right at the bank of the river, on the U.S. side,” Garcia told the 830 Times May 20.
Garcia said VVSO Sgt. Julio De Hoyos took two reports in mid-May of robberies that had occurred on the Mexico side of the river, with immigrants reporting the crime after they crossed the river and encountered federal, state and county law enforcement officials.
“Most recently, there has been an offender, a male subject that was identified, and DPS (Texas Department of Public Safety), Border Patrol, BORTAC, have been doing a lot of surveillance because these robberies were occurring more and more frequently, and individuals have been making outcries about them,” she said.
“During their surveillance, they encountered a male subject who committed a robbery on Monday (May 16) on the U.S. side. The victim is a female in her early 30s, from Colombia,” the lieutenant added.
De Hoyos said the woman reported the man ripped a necklace from her neck after approaching her carrying a knife in each hand and demanding money and cell phones.
“Border Patrol agents witnessed this, and they were able to apprehend the male subject as he was fleeing. He was trying to get back into the river and return to Mexico,” De Hoyos said.
The incident occurred on the Star Ranch downstream of the Del Rio International Bridge, the deputy added.
He said the suspect was still in possession of the woman’s necklace when he was detained by Border Patrol and when sheriff’s office deputies arrived.
Garcia identified the suspect as Luis Manuel Gonzalez-Nunez, 26, a resident of Ciudad Acuña, Coah., Mexico.
She said Gonzalez-Nunez has been charged with the federal offense of illegal re-entry, and noted the sheriff’s office is preparing a case of aggravated robbery against him.
“We will be submitting a case file to the district attorney’s office,” Garcia said.
“If a crime happens in the U.S., on the U.S. side of the river, we’ll go as far as we can to investigate it,” she added.
She noted a second man who was found in the area was also detained by federal officers on a charge of illegal re-entry. She said he is also believed to be involved in the ongoing robberies, although he was not seen robbing anyone before he was apprehended by Border Patrol agents.
Garcia credited cooperation of the federal, state and county law enforcement officers working on the river to come up with strategies to counter the recent spate of robberies.
Garcia said the sheriff’s office and its state and federal partners will continue to monitor the situation.
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