Jose Ramon Flores-Villareal, 29, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced to 37 months of imprisonment. Flores-Villareal previously pleaded guilty to acting as a scout in a narcotics smuggling conspiracy and assault on a federal officer.
For several weeks prior to Flores-Villareal’s arrest, members of the U.S. Border Patrol Casa Grande Station’s specially-trained Mountain Team conducted anti-scout operations on the Tohono O’odham Indian Nation. Scouts in this area are hired by Drug Trafficking Organizations to reside for an extended period of time atop mountains and hills in order to help marijuana backpackers evade law enforcement.
On March 1, 2017, team members observed Flores-Villareal and other scouts utilizing radios to communicate with guides of marijuana backpackers on the desert floor. Air support units arrived, and Flores-Villareal hid himself near a cliff with a 15 to 20-foot drop. An agent located Flores-Villareal, who refused to comply with commands, and Flores-Villareal attempted to strike the agent. Flores-Villareal also grabbed the agent’s radio from his duty belt, keying his radio, thereby preventing him from calling for help. During the course of the struggle, the agent was pushed close to the nearby cliff drop-off. Agents were able to find and assist the other agent and take Flores-Villareal into custody.