ALBUQUERQUE – This afternoon, a federal jury sitting in Las Cruces, N.M., found John Leroy Milne, 56, of Phoenix, Ariz., guilty on marijuana trafficking charges and acquitted his co-defendant following a three-day trial. Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney, Acting Special Agent in Charge Steve Borak of the El Paso Division of the DEA and Chief Patrol Agent Jeffrey D. Self of the U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sectorannounced the verdict.
The DEA and U.S. Border Patrol arrested Milne on June 23, 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with possessing 111.58 kilograms (245.99 pounds) of marijuana with intent to distribute. Milne and his co-defendant, Manuel Pavon-Rodriguez, 36, a Mexican national illegally in the United States, subsequently were indicted on July 19, 2017, and were charged with participating in a marijuana trafficking conspiracy and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. According to the indictment, the defendants committed the crimes on June 23, 2017, in Hidalgo County, N.M.
The evidence at trial established that U.S. Border Patrol agents encountered Milne in Rodeo, N.M., on June 23, 2017, after Milne stopped his vehicle in front of the agents, got out of the vehicle, and initiated a conversation with the agents. The agents had been following Milne because Milne’s vehicle did not have a visible license plate. Agents testified that Milne gave conflicting and confusing accounts about this his travel plans until the agents asked him to show them the paper license plate for his vehicle. The agents testified that they observed five burlap backpacks and detected the strong scent of marijuana from the back of vehicle as Milne attempted to remove the paper license plate from the back window of his vehicle.
When the agents opened the back of the vehicle to inspect the backpacks, they observed Pavon-Rodriguez, who was wearing camouflage clothing, attempting to hide in the back of the vehicle with the backpacks so he could illegally enter the United States. The five burlap backpacks contained 12 square bales of marijuana, weighing approximately 246 pounds that were wrapped in duct tape.
The jury deliberated approximately two hours before returning a guilty verdict against Milne and a not guilty verdict against Pavon-Rodriguez.
At sentencing, Milne faces a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of five years and maximum of 40 years in federal prison. Milne remains in custody pending sentencing hearings, which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA and the U.S. Border Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alfred J. Perez and Kathleen Robeson of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office are prosecuting the case.
credit:justice.gov
