EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — Border agents arrested a Salvadoran gang member who is wanted for violent crimes in Maryland, the U.S. Border Patrol announced Thursday.
While conducting surveillance Wednesday near San Elizario, border agents from the El Paso Sector’s Ysleta Station spotted 23-year-old Ronald Ademair Valencia-Guriola allegedly crossing into the U.S. illegally.
Valencia-Guriola, who has an extensive criminal history, was arrested and charged with attempted murder, assault, and armed robbery in 2017 in Riverdale Park, Maryland.
Valencia-Guriola allegedly failed to appear for his court date before Maryland authorities issued an extraditable warrant in 2018. He faces a charge of illegal re-entry and extradition back to Maryland. Valencia-Guriola was booked into the El Paso County Jail.
In a separate incident on Monday, agents seized 22 pounds of methamphetamine at the Border Patrol checkpoint on Highway 62-180 in Desert Haven, Texas.
A drug-sniffing dog alerted agents to contraband inside a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. Agents said they found 10 bundles containing what was later on determined to be methamphetamine.
Agents arrested the two people inside the car and turned the case over to Drug Enforcement Administration. Agents also seized the vehicle.
“These incidents demonstrate how vigilance by U.S. Border Patrol Agents and the ability to rapidly respond to remote areas is combating the spread of criminal violence across the southern border,” Gloria Chavez, interim chief for the Border Patrol’s El Paso Sector, said in a statement. “Immigration checkpoints are vital to prevent the infiltration of drugs and criminals into our communities.”
The small community of San Elizario, Texas, is notorious for attempted illegal entries, according to a Border Patrol news release.
