Operation Jumpstart helps nab two sought in felonies

FROM STAFF REPORTS
Jan 2, 2007

National Guardsmen working as part of Operation Jumpstart helped U.S. Border Patrol agents on Monday catch two illegal immigrants who turned out to have previous felony arrests for weapons and other offenses, said Lloyd Easterling, a Yuma sector spokesman.

The guardsmen were manning an Entry Identification Team point near the Salinity Canal at Gadsden when they saw two people cross the canal over a nearby bridge and then run into the town, Easterling said.

Border Patrol agents were alerted and arrested the two men shortly after the sighting. During processing at the Yuma Station, both men were identified as having criminal histories including arrests and convictions for weapons charges, vehicle theft and drug-trafficking charges. Also, each man had previously been deported to Mexico from the United States, Easterling said.