Video: Judge Cuffed, Perp Walked Allegedly Housing Alien Gangbanger
"AS A JUDGE, IN OFFICE AT THE TIME OF THESE CRIMES, JOEL CANO HOSTED A GANG MEMBER AT HIS HOME IN NEW MEXICO. THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR THIS GARBAGE PUBLIC OFFICIAL FLOUTING THE LAW AND WE CHEER HIS BEING ARRESTED AND CHARGED," says Eugene Delgaudio, president of Public Advocate.
A former New Mexico county judge and his wife were taken into federal custody Thursday after authorities alleged they had let a Tren de Aragua member illegally in the United States stay in their home.
According to KFOX-TV in El Paso, Texas, former Dona Ana County Magistrate Judge Joel Cano and his wife, Nancy Cano, had their Las Cruces, New Mexico, home raided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement based on probable cause arrest and search warrants.
Both were arrested, and their perp walk was caught on video:
An ICE representative said that the two were in custody as part of a Homeland Security Investigations probe.
The former judge faces charges of evidence tampering, while his wife is charged with conspiracy to tamper.
Cano had resigned his position as a Do�a Ana County magistrate judge last month after allegations surfaced that he and his wife had hosted Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, a Venezuelan illegal immigrant who is an alleged member of the transnational Tren de Aragua gang.
In a Tuesday ruling from the New Mexico Supreme Court, Cano was barred from ever holding judicial office in the state again.