So I know I'm a little late with this one, but there is so much information I didn't want to miss a beat. The bond hearing happened this past Tuesday and as I reported he was given $50,000 cash or surety bond. He paid it late that day, so he wasn't released until Wednesday afternoon, but I wanted to give a you the whole "In the Courtroom" aspect of what happened Tuesday.

Federal court is a little different. You basically can't take in anything and they check your ID (mine included).
The hearing started at 9 a.m. so I got there a little early, but already on the 4th floor was a large amount of Gandara's family.

As we walked in, Gandara and his co-defendant, Juan Canales sat against the wall, shackled at both the hands and feet. Both were in blue jumpsuits, Gandara in bright orange shoes and Canales in green.

The first thing that instantly caught my eye was the number of U.S. Marshals in the room. There were two just standing by Gandara. Then a screen and projector were brought out. It was faced so no one in the gallery could see.

DEA Special Agent Larry Wooten took the stand. Wooten testified that on Nov. 10, 2010 he was contacted by a man who told him Gandara was trafficking drugs and had stolen goods. From here on I will be putting the dates of when stuff occurred. This is all testimony from Wooten and from audio and video tapes played on the projector. The conversations were all in Spanish.

June 27, 2011

The DEA confidential informant meets with Gandara at his home. Gandara got into the CI (confidential informant. I'll abbreviate from here on out) car. The CI says he needs a place to off load a shipment of marijuana.

"I hope you have something good, if you came all the way over here to see me," said Gandara.

The CI tells Gandara it will only take 15 to 20 minutes to unload. The CI says it's a total of 500 pounds of "mota," otherwise known as marijuana.

Gandara, using explicit language, tells the CI he can't take 500 pounds at the ranch. It's later determined that the ranch belongs to his uncle, Babill Gandara.

Gandara tells the CI that he will do it, but that only he and his crew are to be present during the unloading.
While the next portion of the video is played, Gandara smirks in the courtroom.

Gandara agrees to be paid anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 at the off load site.

"What if we get caught with 500, (expletive)?" asked the CI.

Gandara answers saying he had just sent up 150 pounds through his own pipeline to Oklahoma and Chicago. He says he gets paid $1,200 per pound.

The two agree to meet at Gandara's scrap yard on Crocker Road in Socorro.

Sept. 9, 2011. The DEA is doing surveillance to confirm the CI's strory

Gandara, CI, and an undercover agent meet at the scrap yard. Gandara just watches as the drugs are unloaded. The CS then shows Gandara a bundle. The CI tells Gandara it is 25 pounds. Gandara tells him to weigh it. It turns out to only be 10 pounds. Gandara asks if the CI will leave him a sample so maybe he can buy more at a later date. The CS doesn’t agree and pays Gandara $5,000.

Sept. 16, 2011

There is another marijuana off-load. Gandara isn't present but tells the CI to give the $5,000 to his brother-in-law. The CI does not agree. Gandara collects it four days later.

Oct. 22, 2011. Gandara's phone is tapped

Gandara is speaking to Javier Bettancourt (court officials tell me he hasn't been charged). Gandara arranges for Juan Canales to drive a rental car as a lookout for a tractor-trailer full of marijuana that will be driven by Bettancourt. A third person is involved, but that person's name wasn't disclosed and he or she hasn't been charged.

Gandara arranges for the load to be dropped off 50 miles outside Chicago. The trailer filled with powdered red chiles will leave from the scrap yard, and drive through the Sierra Blanca checkpoint. Bettencourt tells Gandara they need to be at the Sierra Blanca checkpoint at 6:30 a.m. because that is the time of shift change for the Border Patrol and also because a Greyhound bus goes through at that time and believes that will distract them from being caught.

Canales, Bettancourt, and the third man all meet up at the I-10 east and Clint exit. Due to intelligence and a K-9, the truck is stopped at the checkpoint and the marijuana is seized. Canales, being the lookout, had made it through and was waiting for the truck at a Sierra Blanca checkpoint.

Joe Spencer, Gandara's attorney, was next to question Wooten. Wooten through testimony says the CI, a known drug trafficker himself, thought he was about to be in trouble with the government, so that's why he offered to help them so they would help him in exchange. Wooten testifies Gandara never bought or sold any marijuana. He also says there is no evidence of a pipeline to Oklahoma and Chicago.

Pre-trial services suggested Gandara be given a $25,000 bond. Spencer says Gandara has been married 18 years, has daughters ages 1, 2, and 3. Gandara began to tear up when Spencer mentioned that his middle daughter's birthday had just been the day before. Spencer says Gandara has 40 family members in El Paso and this is his first arrest. Spencer says if this would have been anybody else, they would be given bond.

Magistrate Judge David Guaderrama agreed Gandara is not a threat to the public and is not a flight risk. He doubled his bond, but was granted. Canales was given $20,000 bond.

After the hearing, Spencer said he'd never seen a bond hearing go on this long. He says the entire case is entrapment since the CI went to Gandara and not the other way around.

Again, the two men are out and are waiting for their trial. They both pled not guilty.