Moreno Valley woman arrested, accused of helping husband flee to Mexico

RIVERSIDE – A Moreno Valley resident was arrested this week by U.S. Marshals on a federal charge of being an accessory to a felony after she allegedly helped her husband flee to Mexico to avoid an October sentencing hearing.

Prosecutors have accused 36-year-old Elba Soto of driving Jose Guadalupe Vega-Zuniga, who is a convicted felon and was in the United States illegally, from their residence in Moreno Valley to Mexico. Prosecutors allege she did so to help him avoid a lengthy prison sentence.

A recent DUI arrest resulted in a federal conviction that carried a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

Vega-Zuniga has prior convictions for heroin trafficking and assault with a deadly weapon. Between 2000 and 2008 he was deported four times, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The deportations usually coincided with the end of his prison sentences.

With his sentencing date set for October, the Mexican national was allowed to remain free on $100,000 bond. Superior Court records show he was ordered to wear a GPS monitoring device.

Prosecutors allege Vega-Zuniga removed the GPS bracelet sometime in early August. Soto later turned the device into authorities, saying her husband was missing and she had no idea where he was.

Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office allege that on Aug. 18 Soto drove Vega-Zuniga to the Otay Mesa port, where the couple crossed into Mexico. Surveillance footage from the border crossing showed Soto behind the wheel and Vega-Zuniga sitting in the front passenger seat.

Soto later returned to Riverside County without Vega-Zuniga.

Soto appeared Wednesday in U.S. District Court in downtown Riverside after U.S. Marshals arrested her without incident in Moreno Valley. She is being held without bail and her arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 19.

“The evidence in this case indicates the defendant knowingly transported her husband to Mexico while he was pending sentencing in the latest of his criminal cases,” U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker said. “If these allegations are proven, the defendant knowingly assisted a convicted felon avoid justice. As a result, the defendant now faces her own criminal case and a significant prison term.”

If convicted, Soto faces up to 10 years in federal prison. Vega-Zuniga remains at large and is believed to be hiding in Mexico.

 

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Trevor Montgomery spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg in an off-duty accident.

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including the Robert Presley Detention Center, the Southwest Station in Temecula, the Hemet Station, and the Lake Elsinore Station, along with many other locations.