Rip Crew Member Sentenced For Robbery, Drug Trafficking

justice

A rip crew member, Abelardo Rodriguez-Arvizu was sentenced to prison after a judge found him guilty of one count each of Conspiracy to Commit Robbery, Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, and Possession of a Firearm During a Drug Trafficking Offense.

According to the Department of Justice, on October 24, 2015, United States Border Patrol (USBP) agents encountered Rodriguez-Arvizu and several other individuals in the desert south of Tucson. Rodriguez-Arvizu and his co-conspirators were part of a drug “rip crew” whose goal was to rob marijuana backpackers of their drug loads. When Border Patrol agents arrived, Rodriguez-Arvizu fled, but forensic testing later revealed his DNA on a water jug and jacket left behind. Rodriguez-Arvizu and his co-conspirators were armed with at least five semi-automatic firearms, body armor, and other items indicative of a rip crew.

USBP agents arrested Rodriguez-Arvizu on November 18, 2019, for his role in the crimes.

Co-conspirators Francisco Javier Caballero-Bustamante and Jose Carlos Lemus-Veliz were arrested by USBP and sentenced, prior to Rodriguez-Arvizu’s arrest, to 98 months and 144 months, respectively, for their roles in the rip crew.

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