December 21, 2006
Arellano enters plea of not guilty
Associate also faces racketeering charge
Looking gaunt and dispirited, the accused kingpin of a Tijuana drug cartel appeared in San Diego federal court yesterday to plead not guilty to racketeering charges that could lead to his execution.
Lawyers asked a judge to free Francisco Javier Arellano Félix from leg shackles, waist chains and double sets of handcuffs, at least in court. The judge declined.
Arellano appeared in court dressed in orange coveralls that denote his imprisonment in solitary confinement at the downtown federal jail.
Unable to move freely or even raise his hand, Arellano could barely be heard in the crowded courtroom as he answered "Sí" when U.S. Magistrate Judge Jan M. Adler asked him if he understood his rights.
It was a stark contrast to the image of a ruthless killer prosecutors painted in an indictment unsealed Tuesday.
Prosecutors said Arellano, 37, orchestrated a massive drug-smuggling operation, plotted the assassination of a deputy police chief nearly two years ago and approved the beheadings of three Rosarito police officers in June.
They said the cartel, under Arellano's direction, kidnapped people for ransom, corrupted officials and intimidated rivals, Mexican media and law enforcement.
U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will decide in the coming months whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty. If so, it will be the first capital punishment case to be tried in San Diego federal court.
Appearing in court with Arellano was Manuel Arturo Villarreal Herédia, who was described by prosecutors as a cartel underboss. He is accused of running kidnapping and drug trafficking cells.
Villarreal pleaded not guilty. He, too, could face the death penalty.
The seven-count indictment accuses both men of racketeering and conspiracies, including drug trafficking and money laundering.
They are not charged with murder, although prosecutors attribute more than a dozen killings in California and Mexico to the cartel, some directly to the two men.
Both men agreed to remain jailed without bail pending future court hearings.
Prosecutors said the men posed a danger and are considered likely to try to leave the country to avoid prosecution if they are allowed out of custody. Their next court date was scheduled for Jan. 2, at which time U.S. District Judge Larry Alan Burns will discuss future court dates and legal representation for Villarreal.
Villarreal hired lawyers to represent him in extradition hearings, but has yet to decide on legal counsel now that he has been charged with a capital crime.
Adler appointed publicly paid lawyers to represent Arellano yesterday. The lawyers - David Bartick and Mark Adams - declined to comment after the court hearing.
Arellano and Villarreal were aboard a 43-foot fishing vessel, the Dock Holiday, when the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted it off the coast of Baja California Sur Aug. 14.
Since then, Arellano had been jailed on an indictment unsealed in 2003. Villarreal, never before charged in the United States, was imprisoned pending extradition to Mexico.
Villarreal's lawyers complained outside court yesterday that the charges in the San Diego indictment closely mirror the charges for which Mexico was asking for his extradition.
"Mexico wants him," lawyer Kerry Steigerwalt said. "Let him go to Mexico."
Steigerwalt said it will be difficult to fight the charges because the defense will be unable to subpoena witnesses from Mexico.
Prosecutors said that large portions of the conspiracy took place in the United States - and San Diego in particular - and the charges are appropriately filed.
Eugene Iredale, another lawyer representing Villarreal, said that a Coast Guard videotape indicates the boat was not in international waters when it was approached.
Iredale said an officer narrating the video is heard to say the boat is still in Mexican waters. But he said he didn't have the videotape and couldn't provide it to reporters.
Officials from both countries say the U.S.-flagged boat was in international waters.
Prosecutors said they can prove its location with readings from Global Position System equipment planted on the Dock Holiday.
Where the arrests took place only affects whether prosecutors can use any evidence found on the boat. Even if the arrests took place illegally, the case could still go forward, legal experts said.
The arrest at sea was significant because U.S. officials didn't have to seek Arellano's extradition.
Mexico doesn't have the death penalty and won't extradite its citizens in such cases. For that reason, U.S. indictments of accused Mexican drug lords typically don't include capital punishment charges.
The Mexican government has been increasing the number of extraditions in such cases in recent months. It sent Arellano's oldest brother, Francisco Rafael, across the border this fall.
But this case may make them rethink the arrangements, said John Kirby, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice in San Diego.
"The Mexican government may react badly, and sort of shut down the extradition pipeline," he said.
By Onell R. Soto
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER