Burrito With The Works
Cops: Woman tried to smuggle heroin into New Mexico jail
A New Mexico woman was arrested after she allegedly hid a hypodermic needle filled with heroin inside a Taco Bell burrito and tried to deliver the contraband to a friend held in a city jail.
Rosemary Gonzales, 42, was nabbed last Friday after a jail guard at the Espanola lockup discovered the hypo hidden amongst the contents of a Burrito Supreme (friends are allowed to bring food to inmates at the small jail).
As seen in the evidence photo below, the works were nestled inside a flour tortilla along with beans, rice, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and a tangy red sauce.
According to a statement of probable cause, the hypodermic's brown liquid contents were field tested by cops and came up positive for heroin. Gonzales, was charged with bringing contraband into a prison, a felony, and jailed in lieu of $5000 cash bond.¤ |
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16-Year-Old Girl Faces 40 Years in Texas Prison for Drug Offense
The county attorney in El Paso, Texas, is seeking a harsh prison term for a 16-year-old girl caught smuggling cocaine into the U.S. from Mexico.
County Attorney Jose Rodriguez asked for and received grand-jury clearance for the girl, whose name was withheld, to be prosecuted under Texas' Determinate Sentencing Statute, which allows minors to be punished beyond their 21st birthday and would expose the girl to up to 40 years in juvenile detention and Texas prisons. The girl was caught allegedly trying to smuggle about 50 pounds of cocaine into the U.S.
"Proceeding under the determinate sentencing statute in this case demonstrates that we will not tolerate these types of crimes, and should serve as a warning to those teens who might be tempted by the money being offered by the drug cartels," Rodriguez said.
But a coalition of local educators, healthcare leaders and attorneys is working to undo Rodriguez's decision. "Our correctional system is so imperfect," said child psychiatrist Cristina Cruz-Grost. "We need to come together to educate and rehabilitate people who go through the system. To place a 16-year-old in the correctional department of Texas with up to a 40-year sentence erases the potential for rehabilitation and destroys her life."
Elhiu Dominguez, a spokesperson for the county attorney, said "Our emphasis is not on incarcerating juveniles but on rehabilitating them."¤
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