A Mexican man who turned himself in to federal agents in Riverside County and sought to be deported in accordance with ongoing immigration crackdowns allegedly had an ulterior motive: pitting the government against itself.
As first detailed by Seamus Hughes’ Court Watch, Geovany Espinoza Norzagaray was facing methamphetamine distribution charges and had indicated he’d plead guilty once he took a trip to see his grandmother.
When in Indio to see his grandmother, however, Norzagaray also “attempted to self-surrender at the Indio Border Patrol Station,” prosecutors said in a motion.
Despite claims by Norzagaray’s attorney that “he had traveled to the Border Patrol station to ask what would happen to his immigration status after his criminal case was over,” prosecutors said they have evidence that he was trying to be deported before he could be convicted on the drug charges.
“The defendant intentionally got himself arrested by the Border Patrol, showed up only with American and Mexican currency on his person, lied to Border Patrol agents and claimed he had never been arrested, and even attempted to speed up his deportation by asking to participate in an expedited removal program,” prosecutors wrote.
The scheme was revealed when Norzagaray didn’t show up to that hearing to change his plea last month.
As a result, the judge issued an arrest warrant, resulting in his transfer from immigration custody to that of the Department of Justice.
“The evidentiary record developed reveals that the defendant attempted to evade prosecution through deportation,” prosecutors said. “The defendant’s gambit failed.”