Trevor Phipps
The huge state invasion of foreign drug cartels and illegal immigrants with dangerous criminal ties is no longer just a Denver or Aurora problem.
In fact, these problems have crept into Teller County, a situation that is gaining national media coverage and generating much angst among locals.
This message was recently made clear by Teller County elected officials, following the return of President Donald Trump to the White House. The 47th president has advocated an unprecedented crackdown when it comes to controlling illegal immigration and pursuing mass deportations of non-citizens,
Teller County has joined this effort on a limited scale, with law officers noting that one of the recent local illegal immigration arrestees is a prime suspect in a possible murder case.
Last month, Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell held a press conference to announce a handful of arrests of illegal immigrants within the county as a way to prove that Teller is not alone when dealing with issues created by this national menace. The sheriff also reported that through their relationship with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE), they were able to identify a person of interest in a suspicious death case that is nearly two years old.
In some recent cases, the sheriff has used his 287g partnership with ICE to determine that criminals arrested for crimes here in Teller actually entered the country illegally. One of the first arrests Sheriff Mikesell mentioned was the arrest of Venezuelan Jorge Alexander Cardona on charges of forgery and conspiracy to commit forgery.
“What’s happening is we are having titles that are being forged and brought to our clerk’s office,” Mikesell explained. “And through the very quick and smart thinking actions made by our county clerk and recorder Stephanie Kees, she was able to identify that they were actually forged. Those forgeries are on Colorado state documents. It is an illegal offense to forge something in Colorado.”
The sheriff said that Jaidy Rondo-Paez was also arrested for forgery and conspiracy to commit forgery for the same documents. The sheriff’s office also arrested Gregori Gonzalez-Hernandez on warrants for larceny and driving vehicles without insurance and registration. Jose Rodrgiuez was also recently arrested in Teller on similar charges.
“Those four people, one from Colombia and three different people from Venezuela were all arrested on charges in Teller County,” Mikesell said. “We are working with ICE on those same individuals, and they have taken several into custody.”
Then as a result of the initial investigation, the sheriff’s office along with help from ICE and Homeland Security Investigative Services conducted search warrants on three properties in Cripple Creek and Victor on Jan. 31. At press time, there were no updates as to what was found or whether any more arrests were made as the case is still under investigation.
Mikesell used the arrests and recent search warrant executions to point out that Teller County is seeing some of the same problems with illegal immigrant criminals as other parts of the country have experienced.
Illegal Immigrant Wanted for Homicide
More notably, sheriff said that he was able to identify Louis Eduardo Sanchez Chavez as a person of interest in a homicide case due to the help of ICE. “This person is a criminal who is also in the United States illegally,” Mikesell said. “In the past, without being able to work with ICE this is a person that we would not be able to locate. All of these parties would not be possible to deal with if it wasn’t for ICE.”
The sheriff said that they want to speak with Chavez about his involvement in the death of Eduardo “Lalo” Castaneda on March 2, 2023. Castaneda was found deceased on the side of 67 near Divide on March 2 after he spent the night in Cripple Creek with friends on Feb. 27. This death generated a slew of questions by locals and elected officials.
Castaneda’s friends told the deceased man’s family that they stopped the car so Castaneda could use the restroom and then they never saw him again. According to the Teller County Coroner, Castaneda died from a skull fracture sometime between 1:30 and 3:30 a.m. on Feb. 27.
No further information on the case was released for nearly two years before Chavez was named as a person of interest in the case late last month.
The sheriff, who has gained much notoriety in the area for his no-nonsense stand against illegal immigrants with potential criminal ties, is trying to do something about the problem politically.
The sheriff is pushing Senate Bill 25-047, which could reverse previous actions by state lawmakers, aimed at limiting enforcement of federal immigration laws. The sheriff helped State Senator Mark Baisley in this effort to give law enforcement more tools to fight crimes committed by illegal immigrants.
On February 3, Sheriff Mikesell officially joined forces with El Paso County Sheriff Joseph Roybal in the fight against immigration during a press conference held with both law enforcement chiefs. Sheriff Roybal said at the press conference that his department will continue to work with ICE when dealing with criminals and that he supports SB 25-047.
The proposed bill is similar to efforts made by a number of Colorado Republicans last year as they tried to repeal laws that were previously passed, which inhibited law enforcement agencies from working with ICE. Mikesell and Baisley cited examples of immigration-related crimes in rural areas and across the state as a key reason to repeal laws that restrict law enforcement agents from cooperating with federal immigration processes.
However, despite the recent uptick in crimes involving illegal immigrants in the county, the sheriff said that they have not conducted any immigration “raids” or “roundups” nor do they plan to do so in the future. This point was further emphasized the Teller Rifles organization, which staunchly supported the actions of the sheriff in an editorial published in TMJ News
