Ecuadoran national Carlos Adrian Verdugo-Castro made a court appearance in federal court in downtown St. Paul this afternoon. The story of how he got there is quite a tale.
Drawing from federal court records, our story begins on May 30. 2024, when Mr. Verdugo was deported from America, back to his native Ecuador. He began his return voyage on September 22.
He first ventured to Sint Maarten (Dutch-side) by way of Panama,
Along with a group of illegals, Verdugo chipped in $2,000 towards the $30,000 purchase price of a boat, and made his way on October 5 to St. John’s island, USVI. From there to St. Thomas.
On October 27 he was nabbed at the airport before he could board a United Airlines flight to Newark.
His arrest at the Cyril E. King airport in Charlotte Amelie on the Island of St. Thomas was noteworthy enough to make the local media.
While still in the Virgin Islands, he was charged with one felony count of illegal re-entry of a previously deported alien. He was released pending trial on that charge. For reasons not apparent in the written record, Verdugo was allowed to spend his time on release under house arrest in Minnesota, some 2,500 miles away.
To recap: St. Martin–> St. John–> St. Thomas–> St. Paul
Postponements of his trial back in St. Thomas continued until earlier this month, when his case was formally transferred to the District of Minnesota for prosecution here.
On Friday, August 22, Verdugo was taken into custody in Minnesota, where he will remain, for the time being. He is accused of violating the terms of his home detention here in Minnesota, having gone AWOL on a number of occasions over the past few months. A hearing on his continued in jail detention will be held in St. Paul on Thursday, August 28.
This case has dragged on for 10 months, so far, with no immediate end in sight.
But in the meantime, due process, so much due process. Then, back to Ecuador.
