“Initially, we came back here to arrest his wife, and as we started conducting our interviews and started looking at evidence, we subsequently arrested Mr. Cano as well.”
Former New Mexico judge Joel Cano and his wife Nancy Cano were arrested on Thursday after law enforcement learned that they were housing an alleged Tren de Aragua gang member.
Cano, who formerly served as a judge in Doña Ana County, and his wife, Nancy, were both taken into custody at their home, according to Jason T. Stevens, Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) El Paso.
Cano faces charges of tampering with evidence, and his wife is facing a conspiracy to tamper charge, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said.
Cano rented out property to Cristhian Oretega-Lopez, an alleged gang member, at his wife’s behest last year. They met Ortega-Lopez when he was hired by the couple to do homework for them, the criminal complaint reads.
The District Attorney’s Office also says that Cano’s daughter had firearms in the home and let Ortega-Lopez hold, shoot, and pose with them in photos shared online.
According to KRQE, the feds seized those firearms and arrested Ortega-Lopez in February. He also admitted to illegally entering the United States in 2023.
“Initially, we came back here to arrest his wife, and as we started conducting our interviews and started looking at evidence, we subsequently arrested Mr. Cano as well,” Stevens said.
“Three other individuals” were also living there, Stevens confirmed. “All three of them, we believe, are alleged members of that (Tren de Aragua). Obviously, we continue just to focus on the totality of the investigation instead of just zeroing out on them,” Stevens said.
The other two gang members are also in custody. It is not yet known if Cano or his wife knew of the trio’s gang affiliations.
Court documents obtained by KTSM, the Supreme Court and Third Judicial District Court resigned as a judge on March 31.
A spokesperson with ICE sent the following statement regarding the arrest of Cano’s wife:
“On April 24, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement executed a search warrant and probable cause arrest at a residence in the 1200 block of North Reymond Street in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Homeland Security Investigations special agents working with federal law enforcement partners, took Nancy Cano into custody as part of an ongoing HSI-led criminal investigation.”
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