$2.2M in marijuana seized in western AZ
Multiple drug seizures over the weekend by Border Patrol agentsled to the recovery of $2.2 million worth of pot and the arrest ofthree suspected smugglers.
Agents working in the western Arizona desert early Saturdayrecovered more than 1,900 pounds of pot worth $961,000. Agents alsoarrested three Mexican nationals suspected of smugglingnarcotics.
On Sunday night, Casa Grande agents seized 16 backpack bundlesof marijuana weighing more than 800 pounds with an estimated worthof $436,000.
Early Monday, Ajo agents seized a total of 1,600 pounds ofmarijuana. A Jeep Grand Cherokee was found abandoned with 86bundles of pot weighing 1,093 pounds. They’re worth an estimated$546,500. Another 524 pounds of pot, worth about $262,000, wasdumped by smugglers and recovered.
$500K stashed in car seized at Nogales port
Federal officers in Nogales recovered more than $500,000 inundeclared money hidden in a BMW that an Arizona man was allegedlytrying to drive into Mexico.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers conducting outboundinspections at the Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry on Fridayselected the 58-year-old Phoenix man for additional inspection.Agents placed the man’s car on a vehicle lift and discovered acompartment containing 21 packages of undeclared U.S. currency, theNogales International reported. The funds were confiscated and theman was arrested.
The Associated Press
Man given 10.5 years in deadly shooting
A 30-year-old Tucson man who confessed to shooting a man 19months after the slaying was sentenced Monday to 10 1/2 years inprison, said Deputy Pima County Attorney Casey McGinley.
On Nov. 6, 2004, two men found Paul Bolebruch suffering from agunshot wound to the head in the yard of his body shop andresidence on North Stone Avenue. He died three days later.
Nineteen months later, Robert Lee Toombs called 911 andconfessed to the slaying.
Toombs has suffered from mental issues since he climbed a powerpole, was shocked and fell at the age of 14, court documentsindicate. He also suffered a head injury that put him into a comafor two weeks at the age of 25.
He has schizophrenia and has spent time in variousrestoration-to-competency programs.
Toombs pleaded guilty to manslaughter in October and wassentenced Monday by Pima County Superior Court Judge JaneEikleberry.
Kim Smith
Man, 41, arrested in deadly collision
A man who suffered serious injuries in a head-on collision onJan. 15 was arrested upon release from the hospital Friday, policesaid.
Daniel Douriet, 41, was booked into the Pima County jail onsuspicion of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, criminaldamage and unlawful possession of narcotic drugs, said Sgt. MattRonstadt, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.
Elizabeth G. Acuña, 48, a passenger in Douriet’s car, died inthe crash, on East Benson Highway and South Kino Gateway, near EastIrvington Road.
Investigators determined Douriet lost control of his 2008 DodgeCharger while northbound on Benson Highway, hitting a road sign, alight pole and a wire fence.
He then veered back onto the road and into oncoming traffic,slamming into a 2007 Nissan Altima.
A 26-year-old woman who was driving the Altima suffered seriousinjuries.
Jamar Younger