3 accused in jealousy-fueled deportation scheme
BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- Three women are accused of orchestrating a jealousy-fueled deportation scheme targeting a woman believed to be the mistress of one of their boyfriends.
"In my 35 years, I've never seen anything like this," said Lt. Steve Femley of Bellingham police.
Investigators said the three women - Melissa Espinoza, Briana Tatom and Mariana Kittila - targeted a 28-year-old woman who had recently moved to Washington sate from Mexico to be with her husband.
When the woman walked out of a local store, police said the three women forced her into a car, accusing her of having an affair with one woman's boyfriend. The women then drove Jimenez to border patrol agents in an attempt to get her deported.
Femley said prior to the incident, the women called 911 to report an alleged fight at local restaurant. The women named their adversary as the trouble maker, hoping she'd be arrested as an illegal immigrant.
When that didn't work, the women called the Washington State Patrol to report the woman was driving drunk, Femley said. The report prompted troopers to pull over the targeted woman, but she was not drunk.
"I don't think they realized the waste of resources here when officers could have been answering critical calls," said Femley.
When police didn't take the bait, the three women followed their foe to a local Wal-Mart in order to take matter into their own hands, Femley said.
What they didn't know, however, is that border patrol agents do not handle deporting. The agents called local police to deal with the women's claims instead.
No one was taken into custody. However, the three accused women are facing a felony charge of unlawful imprisonment.
Investigators said Kittila was the mastermind behind the plot. KOMO News went to her house, and a woman standing in the driveway said her daughter was involved in the incident but she did not know the details.
The targeted woman was not taken into custody as investigators by practice do not question crime victims of their immigration status.
