Mexican National Sentenced to Over Three Years for Narcotic Smuggling and Assault on a Federal Officer

     TUCSON, Ariz. – Yesterday, Jose Ramon Flores-Villareal, 29, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge David C. Bury to 37 months of imprisonment. Flores-Villareal previously pleaded guilty to acting as a scout in a narcotics smuggling conspiracy and assault on a federal officer.

     For several weeks prior to Flores-Villareal’s arrest, members of the U.S. Border Patrol Casa Grande Station’s specially-trained Mountain Team conducted anti-scout operations on the Tohono O’odham Indian Nation. Scouts in this area are hired by Drug Trafficking Organizations to reside for an extended period of time atop mountains and hills in order to help marijuana backpackers evade law enforcement. On March 1, 2017, team members observed Flores-Villareal and other scouts utilizing radios to communicate with guides of marijuana backpackers on the desert floor. Air support units arrived, and Flores-Villareal hid himself near a cliff with a 15 to 20-foot drop. An agent located Flores-Villareal, who refused to comply with commands, and Flores-Villareal attempted to strike the agent. Flores-Villareal also grabbed the agent’s radio from his duty belt, keying his radio, thereby preventing him from calling for help. During the course of the struggle, the agent was pushed close to the nearby cliff drop-off. Agents were able to find and assist the other agent and take Flores-Villareal into custody.

     The investigation in this case was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations’ NATIVE Task Force and the U.S. Border Patrol Casa Grande Station. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Rossi and Susanna Martinez, District of Arizona, Tucson.

CASE NUMBER: CR-00509-JGZ-BPV

RELEASE NUMBER: 2017-086_ Flores-Villareal

# # #

For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/

Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.