Border Patrol Agents and Sheriff’s Deputies Locate Runaway with Gang in Ariz.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Yuma, Ariz. – Border Patrol agents and sheriff’s deputies, working together as members of the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office Gang Task Force arrested a “Sureno 13” gang member and also located a juvenile female reported as a runaway.

About 8:45 p.m., Border Patrol agents and YCSO Deputies encountered the man and a female subject near the Yuma Greyhound Bus Station. Agents determined the man was an alien illegally present in the United States. The juvenile female is a U.S. citizen who was reported as a “runaway” by her parents in California.

YCSO Deputies took custody of the female subject and are in the process of returning her to her parents. No charges have been filed by the juvenile’s parents against her alleged companion.

The illegal alien was taken to the Yuma Border Patrol Station where, in subsequent interviews, he claimed to be a “Sureno 13” gang member. He will undergo prosecution/removal proceedings for being illegally present in the United States and could face up to 180 days in jail.