Staff Report
NewsWest 9
JEFF DAVIS COUNTY - Stealing a Border Patrol camera got a Jeff Davis County man into hot water.
It happened a couple weeks ago when the county sheriff stopped Israel Melendez.
Melendez had set off a sensor in the Cubano Crossing area, just north of the border.
According to the affidavit, the sheriff noticed a game camera in Melendez's car that he admitted was ICE property.
A Border Patrol agent confirmed that it was federal property.
At one point, Melendez claimed he had other cameras hidden but that wasn't true.
He told authorities he had pulled the camera down from a tree to keep as a trophy.
