A team gathers in Stateline on Tuesday morning in preparation for arrests in South Lake Tahoe.
Photo Special to The R-C by Richard Glasson
Eight people were arrested by U.S. immigration authorities in South Lake Tahoe on Tuesday.
The operation targeted subjects in seven different residential locations that were, according to Douglas County Undersheriff Ron Elges, “identified in joint narcotics investigations, were registered sex offenders, or had outstanding warrants for arrest.”
In addition to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Sacramento-based Department of Homeland Security, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, conducted the arrests.
The Department of Homeland Security initiated deportation proceedings for those arrested based on their identified threat to the community.
Douglas is a participant in Operation Bear Trap, a multi-year joint investigation targeting violent crime, illegal firearms trafficking, and narcotics distribution in the region.
Sheriff Dan Coverley said the sheriff’s office has a longstanding history of cooperating with immigration as part of its standard booking procedures.
Under a new agreement, when an individual who is foreign-born is arrested and booked into the Douglas County Jail, immigration will be notified and will assess the individual’s immigration status and determine whether they are subject to removal from the United States.
If deemed necessary, authorities may place a detainer on the individual, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
As of Thursday morning, there are two people with immigration holds in the jail.
Chinese national Minglong Chen is awaiting an April 22 arraignment on felony charges of exploitation of the elderly and extortion. Chen is a Mandarin speaker.
Carson City resident Sarah Breena Bartlett didn’t contest charges of misdemeanor possession of paraphernalia and driving without a valid license on Wednesday. Attorney Max Stovall said the immigration hold was “a bigger fish to fry.” It is believed that Bartlett is Australian. She told East Fork Justice of the Peace Laurie Trotter that she had work as an au pair at Lake Tahoe.
