A federal judge denied bond to an alleged drug smuggler who was extradited to El Paso on charges of trafficking heroin and fentanyl into the U.S.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Anne Berton denied issuing a bond to Hector Adrian Rojero Ramos, 54, also known as Teto, because he was a “flight risk and a danger to the community.” Berton made her ruling during a detention hearing Wednesday, July 2, at the Albert Armendariz Sr. Federal Courthouse in Downtown El Paso.
Rojero Ramos did not speak during his court hearing. He appeared in court wearing an orange jailhouse jumpsuit in handcuffs and with chains around his ankles.
He was extradited to the U.S. from Mexico on June 25 to face four federal charges involving drug trafficking, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas Justin R. Simmons announced in a news release. He was originally arrested in Juárez in March, the Mexico Attorney General’s Office said in a news release.
Rojero Ramos, a Mexican citizen, is accused of trafficking heroin and fentanyl for a drug trafficking organization between January 2016 and August 2019, the U.S. Attorney’s Office news release and a federal indictment state.
The drugs were smuggled into the U.S. and taken to various locations, including Texas, Oklahoma, and Illinois, the news release states. The U.S. Attorney’s Office identified Rojero Ramos as a member of a drug trafficking organization, but released no further information on the organization he was working for. A federal indictment also does not name the organization.
Rojero Ramos is charged with one count of conspiracy to import a controlled substance, one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and two counts of aiding and abetting possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. He is facing up to life in prison if convicted on the charges.
Rojero Ramos smuggled drugs hidden in car batteries
U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency special agent Joel Cepeda testified at the hearing about Rojero Ramos’ role in the organization. Rojero Ramos worked as a “drug crosser,” the agent testified.
A confidential source working for the DEA in 2016 alerted agents about being hired to take a car battery with heroin hidden in it to Chicago. The source met with Rojero Ramos at an auto parts store in Central El Paso. They took the heroin-filled battery out of Rojero Ramos’ car and replaced it with the battery in the source’s car, the agent testified. Agents later seized the drugs.
In a second attempt, the source and Rojero Ramos met at the same auto parts store and exchanged batteries. The drugs were later seized in Chicago. Agents seized about 6.9 kilograms of heroin, the agent testified.
Rojero Ramos was interviewed by agents in 2017. He told agents he smuggled the batteries across the U.S.-Mexico border and knew drugs were hidden inside, the agent testified. He added he no longer worked for the organization. No information was released on if Rojero Ramos was arrested or released after the interview with the agents.
Mexico law enforcement arrested Rojero Ramos in March in Juárez and extradited him to El Paso last week.
Judge rules Rojero Ramos is a flight risk
Damian Rasmussen, Rojero Ramos’ attorney, argued during the hearing that his client played a “minor” role in the drug trafficking organization and was not a danger to the community. He added that federal prosecutors only had evidence of two drug smuggling attempts and were relying on the testimony of witnesses to connect him to other trafficking incidents.
Rasmussen requested a bond be granted, stating Rojero Ramos was asking to be put in a halfway house as his case remains pending. He said Rojero Ramos would not leave the U.S.
Federal prosecutor Jose Luis Acosta argued Rojero Ramos played a large role in the drug trafficking organization, was a Mexican citizen, and had no ties to El Paso. He added he feared Rojero Ramos was a flight risk.
Acosta said witness statements connected Rojero Ramos to other drug trafficking cases, and border crossing records confirmed he crossed into the U.S. around the same time as the smuggling attempts.
Berton agreed with Acosta and ordered Rojero Ramos to be held without bond as he awaits trial.
Rojero Ramos allegedly smuggled heroin, fentanyl
Little information is provided in the federal indictment. Rojero Ramos is accused of helping smuggle several kilograms of heroin and fentanyl into the U.S.
At least five other people are indicted in the case with Rojero Ramos. Two of them — Christian Delgado and Santiago Rivera — have already pleaded guilty and been sentenced to prison.
Delgado pleaded guilty in November 2019 to one count of conspiracy to import a controlled substance, federal court records show. He was sentenced in March 2020 to more than seven years in federal prison and five years of supervised release after serving his prison term.
Rivera pleaded guilty in February 2020 to one count of conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute, court records show. He was sentenced in October 2020 to three years in federal prison and five years of supervised release after he serves his prison term. Court records show Rivera was released early from his supervised release on March 24 for completing the conditions set in his supervised release.
The names of the other defendants indicted in the case are sealed and redacted in the indictment. Rasmussen attempted to get the agent to testify on the names of the co-defendants, but Acosta objected, stating they remained sealed. Berton did not allow the agent to use the names of the co-defendants in his testimony.
The agent testified that the first and second defendants sealed in the indictment were “higher levels” than Rojero Ramos in the organization. The first person was in charge of the drug smuggling operations and the second was the “right-hand man” of the first person, the agent testified.
The indictment states one of the co-defendants “occupied a position of organizer, supervisor and manager” in the drug cartel and “obtained substantial income and resources.”
Aaron Martinez covers the criminal justice system for the El Paso Times. He may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on X/Twitter @AMartinezEPT.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Federal judge denies bond for alleged drug smuggler extradited to El Paso
Reporting by Aaron Martinez, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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