Border Patrol agents at I-25 Checkpoint arrest convicted sex offender from Mexico

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico - Las Cruces Border Patrol agents arrested a registered sex offender at an immigration checkpoint over the weekend. Ubaldo Morales Sotelo, 35, was arrested Saturday night after trying to smuggle his passengers into Albuquerque, Border Patrol officials said. Agents from the Las Cruces station watched a 2007 Kia van allegedly driven by Morales approach the immigration checkpoint. As the subjects were being questioned about their citizenship, agents noticed that several of the passengers began to look nervous and hesitated to answer. The vehicle was sent to a secondary inspection, where passengers admitted to agents they were in the country illegally. The driver and occupants were taken into custody for additional questioning and processing. Morales, a Mexican national with a long criminal history, was arrested. Border Patrol officials did not say if Morales was in the country illegally. Morales' criminal history includes a conviction on a sexual assault charge, providing alcohol to a minor, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, sexual battery and unlawful sale and supply of alcohol to minors. Morales was booked into the Otero County Detention Facility.  KVIA