PHOENIX – A U.S. Border Patrol agent charged with smuggling drugs while on duty is set for a court appearance.
Authorities say Aaron Anaya was on patrol Sunday evening when he stopped along the international border, then loaded up several bundles of marijuana that had been dropped over the fence from Mexico.
According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Phoenix, he was later arrested with nearly 147 pounds of marijuana in his Border Patrol vehicle.
He is charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana and carrying a firearm -- his service weapons -- while committing the crime.
Anaya's federal public defender didn't return a telephone message. His telephone number wasn't listed, and union representatives for the Border Patrol's Yuma sector say he has not reached out to them for representation.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
