Assistant U. S. Attorney Mark Conover (619) 546-6763
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY– November 7, 2016
SAN DIEGO – North Park resident Dania Olivero was arrested and charged yesterday with harboring and hiding 44 undocumented immigrants, some of whom reported that they were locked in a small backyard shed with dozens of others - without light, ventilation or a bathroom.
According to a complaint filed in federal court, the San Diego Police Department received calls from neighbors who were concerned about two vehicles dropping off multiple individuals who then nervously and hurriedly entered the home in the 4900 block of University Avenue in North Park.
When police arrived to investigate, defendant Olivero told officers that she had invited the people over to drink beer. Officers found people who appeared to be nervous, not drinking unopened beer in front of them. Some of the people ran to the back yard when they saw the officers.
Police suspected the people were undocumented immigrants and asked the U.S. Border Patrol for assistance. When Border Patrol officers questioned the people in the house, all but two identified themselves as Mexican nationals without legal status in the U.S.; the other two said they citizens of Guatemala without legal status in the U.S. All were taken into custody.
Seven remained in custody as material witnesses; the remainder are in the custody of immigration authorities pending immigration proceedings.
DEFENDANT Case Number 16mj3460
Dania Olivero Age: 51 Cuba
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Harboring and Concealing – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1324(a)(1)(A)(iii)
Maximum penalty: 10 years in prison and $500,000 fine
INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
U.S. Border Patrol
San Diego Police Department
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.