A former border official admitted on Thursday to using his position to target a legal resident with no criminal record, authorities announced.
Martin Rene Duran, 49, of Chula Vista, worked as a supervisory agent with U.S. Border Patrol in 2013 when he made bogus alerts to have a lawful permanent resident detained at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.
The lawful resident had accused Duran’s brother-in-law of sexually abusing his son in Mexico.
Within a week, Duran started inputting false alerts into a database used to screen people crossing the border, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The alerts claimed the victim — only identified as R.C. to protect his child in Mexico — had made threats to law enforcement and that he was “known to carry firearms,” according to prosecutors. Duran continued to enter the alerts over several months, officials added.
This resulted in R.C. being detained at the border multiple times. Each time, officers found no weapon or contraband, according to court documents.
In one instance, agents removed R.C. and his wife from their vehicle, handcuffed them and separated them from their kids, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. The officers placed the couple in a holding cell for nearly two hours before releasing them, the agency said.
Duran said he had R.C. stopped at the Port of Entry so he could ask him about the accusations against his brother-in-law, according to authorities.
“This agent used his significant power against someone he was sworn to protect,” U.S. Attorney Adam Braverman said in a statement. “He targeted a law-abiding citizen because of a personal vendetta, and for that he will pay a price.”
He could face a maximum penalty of 12 months in custody, one year of supervised released and a $100,000 fine, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
In addition to that case, a San Diego federal jury convicted Duran earlier in 2018 on several counts of illegally transporting guns.
He was scheduled to return to court on Sept. 17 for sentencing in both cases.