Appeals Court to Review Bail in Smuggling Case

A federal appeals court in San Francisco has agreed to review a federal judge’s order to set bail for four defendants charged with stealing sensitive U.S. Navy aircraft parts and shipping them to Iran.

U.S. District Judge Leland Nielsen on Tuesday ordered a federal magistrate to set bail for the four suspects, along with a fifth, Pedro M. Quito, but decided to allow authorities to continue to hold Franklin P. Agustin without bail because he is an illegal alien.

Nielsen had said during a two-day hearing last week that the U.S. Attorney’s office in San Diego had not provided enough evidence to convince him that the suspects were a risk to flee the country if they were released under strict bail conditions.

The U.S. attorney’s office appealed Nielsen’s ruling covering Franklin Agustin’s brother, Edgardo; his wife, Julie; Antonio Rodriguez and Primitivo Cayabyab. Prosecutors did not contest the setting of bail for Quito.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles S. Crandall said that Quito, 60, did not pose the same flight risk as the other suspects because of his poor health and longstanding ties in San Diego. Quito, a San Diego resident for eight years and a Navy civilian warehouse worker, was reportedly “somewhat less involved” in the smuggling operation that allegedly stole F-14 aircraft parts from Navy bases and ships, Crandall said.

U.S. District Magistrate Roger C. McKee said in a hearing Thursday that he was considering setting bail at $200,000 and gave Quito’s attorney until Wednesday to raise that amount in assets secured by relatives and friends.

Quito’s attorney, Walter Lundstein, said he believed he could raise $100,000, but questioned whether he could get the full $200,000.

Under the bail conditions set by Nielsen, Quito must surrender his passport or any other documents that would allow him to travel and must check in person daily with a pretrial services officer.

Quito and the five other suspects are charged with numerous counts of conspiracy, illegally exporting defense equipment, theft and wire fraud.

Crandall argued in his appeal that regardless of the amount of bail set, Edgardo and Julie Agustin, Rodriguez and Cayabyab all would flee to the Philippines. He stated that all four have substantial ties to the Philippines, own property there and have traveled there within the last year.

The Ninth District Court of Appeals stayed Nielsen’s order, which means that the four suspects must wait for a decision by the appellate court before any bail figures can be set.

According to the 16-page appeal, Julie Agustin’s ex-husband, Wilfred Francia, has stated that she would immediately flee to the Philippines whether or not she had a passport. The appeal also noted that the Agustin family had previously been linked to an alien smuggling ring that used false documents to travel across U.S. borders illegally.

Crandall said that Nielsen “erred” in his decision to release the defendants on bail and “simply ignored” important evidence that they are serious risks to leave the country.