U.S. Attorney’s Office Filed 87 Border-Related Cases This Week

SAN DIEGO - Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 87 border-related cases this week, including charges of bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California is the fourth-busiest federal district, largely due to a high volume of border-related crimes. This district, encompassing San Diego and Imperial counties, shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world's busiest land border crossing, connecting San Diego (America's eighth largest city) and Tijuana (Mexico's second largest city).

In addition to reactive border-related crimes, the Southern District of California also prosecutes a significant number of proactive cases related to terrorism, organized crime, drugs, white-collar fraud, violent crime, cybercrime, human trafficking and national security. Recent developments in those and other significant areas of prosecution can be found here.

A sample of border-related arrests this week:

• On September 22, Jesus Alfredo Castro Sanchez, a Mexican national, was arrested and charged with Attempted Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain. In the same incident, Marcos Octavio Huerta-Pena, Anabel Lopez, Lorenzo Martinez Mateos and Jaime Romero Solano - also Mexican nationals - were arrested and charged with Attempted Entry after Deportation. According to a complaint, 11 people aboard a 26-foot vessel were intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard after a brief ocean pursuit. Castro Sanchez was identified as the boat captain. The U.S. Coast guard disabled the motor of the 26-foot vessel about 9 miles north of the border. The defendants and other passengers were transported to Point Loma and turned over to the Border Patrol.
• On September 23, Krystal Vanessa Santibanez, a U.S. citizen, was arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, Santibanez attempted to enter the United States at the San Ysidro Port of Entry with 115 pounds of methamphetamine concealed in the spare tire, rear quarter panel and gas tank of her car.

Also recently, a number of defendants with criminal records were convicted by a jury or sentenced for border-related crimes such as illegally re-entering the U.S. after previous deportation. Here are a few of those cases:

• On September 22, Jose Miguel Verduzco Mendoza, a Mexican national who was previously convicted of felony Disorderly Conduct with a Deadly Weapon or Dangerous Instrument and Misconduct Involving Weapons in November 2024, was sentenced in federal court to 92 days in custody for entering the U.S illegally.
• On September 26, Emilio Anchundia Bailon, a 41-year-old Ecuadorian citizen, was sentenced to 72 months in prison for Possession of Cocaine with Intent to Distribute on Board a Vessel. The amount of cocaine involved was 1,410kgs.
• On September 26, Pedro Valencia-Anguiano, a Mexican citizen who was previously convicted of "DUI Alcohol - Causing Bodily Injury - Use of Firearm" in 2023, was sentenced in federal court to 89 days in custody for again entering the U.S. illegally.

The immigration cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with the support and assistance of state and local law enforcement partners.

Indictments and criminal complaints are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.