Guilty Verdict in First Illegal Alien Trespass Trial in Texas

The Epoch Times Header

BRACKETTVILLE, Texas—The first jury trial under Texas’s Operation Lone Star border program wrapped up in Kinney County, Texas, on May 9.

The defendant, Honduran native Lester Hidalgo Aguilar, was found guilty of criminal trespass on a local ranch and sentenced to the maximum jail time of one year. The judge declined to apply an accompanying fine, which could have been up to $4,000, but said Aguilar should pay court costs ($290).

Aguilar’s trial was a litmus test for the Operation Lone Star arrests, which began around July last year as Gov. Greg Abbott directed state troopers to arrest trespassers on state or private land.

Until now, almost all defendants have pleaded guilty or no contest to trespass or other misdemeanor charges, and have reached a plea deal of time served and no fine.

Aguilar’s trespass charge was enhanced to a Class B misdemeanor as he was found beyond 100 feet inside the property line of an agricultural operation, then elevated to a Class A as the crime occurred during a declared state disaster.

Most of the Operation Lone Star arrests have taken place in Kinney County, with ranchers and landowners increasingly finding cut fences, broken water troughs, and other property damage as scores of illegal immigrants have traversed their land to avoid law enforcement.

The Del Rio border sector, in which Kinney County sits, is consistently one of the highest regions for illegal immigrant “gotaways”—those who are detected by Border Patrol but evade capture.

In April, preliminary numbers from Customs and Border Protection revealed more than 16,000 gotaways in the Del Rio sector.

Those gotaways either coordinate with smugglers to drive them to San Antonio or Houston, or walk through private ranchland until they’re clear of the Border Patrol highway checkpoints, then arrange for transport.

Cheryl Gabler Tomlin, upon whose family ranch Aguilar was arrested, testified at the trial, saying the property is fully fenced and no one was authorized to enter the property, where she raises cattle and goats.

After the trial, she told The Epoch Times she was satisfied with the outcome. “I thought he would get off. I’m happy,” she said as she left the courtroom.

Tomlin said her life has changed considerably in the past year and a half as more illegal aliens encroach on her land. She recalled one of her scariest moments when she was opening a fence to let her horses out while still astride her ATV. A man appeared, and she said he whispered, “Don’t tell, don’t tell,” and leapt over the fence toward her ATV.

She hit the gas, and he struck the side of the ATV and fell down. She waved down Border Patrol agents who were down the road looking for him. The agents arrested the man and later told her he was a five-time aggravated assault felon from Honduras.

“I have a gun all the time now,” Tomlin said.

By Charlotte Cuthbertson

Read Full Article on TheEpochTimes.com

The Epoch Times
The Epoch Timeshttps://www.theepochtimes.com/
Tired of biased news? The Epoch Times is truthful, factual news that other media outlets don't report. No spin. No agenda. Just honest journalism like it used to be.

Columns

DOGE and Musk Recover Deleted Computer Files

Elon Musk and his “Geek Squad” discovered an entire terabyte of data was deleted from government servers from the office of the “Institute of Peace”.

A Simple Question

What is a woman? Anyone with an IQ above room temperature can answer the question. Everyone, that is, except Democrats.

Democrats Tesla Takedown is a Proven Astro Turf Movement

Elon Musk and other journalistic leaders like Joe Rogan have been asking the critical question, “Who is behind the organization of these Tesla protests?”

Can Ramaphosa and Trump Come to Terms?

Whether South Africa can quell the hostility emanating from Washington, without compromising on its national priorities, is a formidable test for a country

Maddened Europe

Viable prospects for peaceful settlement of conflict between Moscow and Kyiv exist, but Europe obsesses over threat of incursion onto European territory.

News

US Immigration Services Drops 3rd Gender Option

US immigration services agency officially updated policy to recognize only two biological sexes—male and female—for all immigration-related doc and benefit requests.

Transgender Covenant School Killer Planned Attack for Years, Final Police Report Says

Transgender shooter in mass killing at Christian school in Nashville, TN was an alumnus motivated by a quest for notoriety, final police report concludes.

Supreme Court Reviews South Carolina’s Medicaid Funding Block on Planned Parenthood

U.S. Supreme Court weighed whether South Carolina can stop abortion provider Planned Parenthood from taking part in state’s Medicaid program.

Africa at Crossroads After $13 Billion US Aid Cut, Say Analysts

African countries reacted with shock when the U.S. government recently cut $13 billion in financial assistance.

Trump Admin Ordered to Restore Legal Aid for Unaccompanied Minors

Judge in CA ordered Trump admin to restore funding for nonprofits providing legal services to unaccompanied illegal immigrant children who entered US.

Val Kilmer, Star of ‘Top Gun’ and ‘Batman,’ Dies at 65

Actor Val Kilmer, best known for his roles in movies “Top Gun,” “The Doors,” and “Batman Forever,” died on April 1 at age 65, his daughter confirmed.

Princeton Says Trump Administration Has Suspended Dozens of Research Grants

Trump admin has suspended several dozen federally funded research grants to Princeton University as part of its investigation into campus anti-Semitism.
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

MAGA Business Central