Three illegal aliens arrested have a combined 69 arrests

  Border Patrol agents in Yuma arrested three illegal aliens with extensive criminal histories and immigration violations in two separate incidents Wednesday.

   At about 6 p.m., agents discovered a set of footprints leading away from the Colorado River near County 8th Street - "a high-traffic area," said Border Patrol spokesman Ben Vik.

  Vik said agents tracked the prints for about two miles to a field where they found an illegal alien trying to evade them. 

  A fingerprint check identified him as Juan Francisco-Flores and revealed a criminal history originating in the late 1980s. Included were assault with a deadly weapon, inflicting injury upon spouse, driving under the influence and drug offenses. Francisco-Flores was also previously deported from the United States.

  Later that same evening, a Yuma Sector camera operator helped agents in the arrest of two more criminal aliens who used the same crossing point to enter the U.S.

  "They were trying to circumvent the north end of Yuma," Vik said. "The camera operator watched them enter the country illegally and guided agents to their location. It was a triumph of technology."

  Silvio Arrellano-Estrada, a criminal alien with history beginning in the 1990s, was found to have three previous arrests for various forms of theft including shoplifting and vehicle theft, as well re-entry after deportation.

  A records check identified the last subject as Sacramento Velasquez-Morales. His varied immigration and criminal history includes 60 arrests, using 47 aliases, spanning from the mid-1970s to present for multiple battery/assault charges, narcotics, theft and public drunkenness in various states such as California, Washington, Texas and Arizona. 

  Velasquez-Morales reportedly has multiple illegal entry offenses and has been formally removed from the U.S. eight times.
  All of the criminal aliens were prosecuted for illegal entry, re-entry after deportation and reinstatement of prior removal orders under Operation Streamline.

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