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East County News Service
December 12, 2014 (Potrero) – A federal jury yesterday has convicted Potrero resident Kala Rains, 47, on seven counts of conspiracy and alien smuggling. The ranch used by Rains and co-conspirators to harbor undocumented immigrants should be forfeited to the U.S. government, jurors determined following a trial before Judge Anthony Battaglia.
Evidence presented in court showed that Rain was part of a conspiracy that smuggled several loads of undocumented immigrants from Mexico into the U.S. in and around the Tecate area.
Her arrest resulted from an investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations’ Border Enforcement Security Task Force. Prosecutors presented evidence of video-recorded undercover meetings, audio recordings, and telephonic evidence to build the case of the conspiracy. Jurors also heard from aliens smuggled into the United States by the organization; they testified that they were to pay between $6,500 and $7,500 to members of the conspiracy as a smuggling fee.
U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy commended special agents from Homeland Security and the U.S. Border for their work in a two-year investigation to “infiltrate, disrupt, and dismantle this transnational criminal organization.”
Previously, co-defendants Caroline Haro Espindola, Jose Maria Partida-Esquivel, and Alexander Flores pleaded guilty for their roles in the alien smuggling conspiracy.
Rains faces a mandatory minimum sentence of three years and a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for February 27, 2015.
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