Colombian Tied to Slayings Indicted in Border Crossing

A Colombian citizen who has been linked in court papers to 50 drug-related killings in the United States and Colombia was indicted by a federal grand jury Friday on charges of entering the United States illegally via Mexico last month.

Adolfo Martinez Micolta, who is being held in the Metropolitan Correctional Center here in lieu of $250,000 bail, pleaded innocent to the charge of entering the United States without permission from Mexico on March 20. If convicted, he could face a two-year jail term and a fine of up to $250,000.

The grand jury, which also indicted two women in connection with the case, made no mention of drugs or the 50 homicides cited in law enforcement affidavits attached to court documents. The affidavits, citing intelligence information, state that the 36-year-old Martinez Micolta is a “major narcotics trafficker” and the suspected contract assassin, or “hit man,” in 50 drug-related murders that occurred in Colombia and the United States during an unspecified period. Federal authorities say they are investigating to determine the accuracy of the reports.

Martinez Micolta, who has not been charged with murder or any drug-related violation, has denied such activities through his court-appointed attorney, Richard Boesen of San Diego. The defense lawyer described his client as a mechanic and auto-body painter from Bogota, the Colombian capital, who was visiting the United States for legitimate purposes. Martinez Micolta was deported from the United Sates last August through Miami.

Martinez Micolta and Lucia Minotta de Wittkamp, a 32-year-old Colombian citizen, were arrested on March 20 after U.S. immigration inspectors in San Ysidro found them hiding in the secret compartment of a van that was entering the United States from Mexico, according to U.S. officials. Minotta de Wittkamp, who is being held without bail, was also indicted by the federal grand jury Friday for allegedly assaulting a federal officer after her arrest. She faces up to five years in jail and a $250,000 fine.

Also indicted on Friday was Amalia Maria Casarez, 40, of San Diego, a legal U.S. resident who was allegedly driving the van used to smuggle the two Colombians into the country. Casarez, who pleaded innocent to two counts of alien smuggling, faces up to 10 years in jail and $500,000 in fines if convicted.