Border Patrol arrests sex offender near San Luis

U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Yuma Sector arrested two men with significant criminal histories over the weekend.

According to Ben Vik, spokesman for the Yuma Sector Border Patrol, at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday, Border Patrol agents assigned to the Yuma Station encountered Candelario Aldaba-De la Cerda, a native and citizen of Mexico, near San Luis, Ariz.

Vik said Aldaba was traveling with another man, also a citizen of Mexico. Agents took both men into custody for being illegally within the United States and transported them to the Yuma Station for processing.

"They had made their entry, but agents only had to track them for a short distance," Vik said.

A records checks revealed that Aldaba was a previously deported sex offender with a record of sexual assault with a minor in Washington state.

Aldaba had served 51 months in jail with 48 months supervised release on that felony conviction. He was also ordered removed from the United States as an aggravated felon in 2004.

The man traveling with Aldaba had been arrested in Minnesota for narcotics charges and ordered removed in 2000.

Both men will be prosecuted for illegally re-entering the United States after their prior deportation and will be deported back to Mexico.

"Both subjects had been previously deported," Vik said. "They are now being reprosecuted for illegally re-entering the country."

The apprehension and removal of convicted sex offenders is one of the means by which the United States Border Patrol serves to reduce crime in their border communities and improve the quality of life along the border.

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James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.