EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – A former New Mexico judge and his wife were arrested on Thursday, April 24, after federal law enforcement learned that their tenant, who is an alleged Tren de Aragua gang member, was arrested at the judge’s home.
Former Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Joel Cano and his wife, Nancy Cano, were taken into custody at a home on North Reymond Street in Las Cruces, Jason T. Stevens, Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) El Paso, said.
Cano is facing a tampering with evidence charge, and his wife is facing a conspiracy to tamper charge, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
As we previously reported, Cano rented out his casita to Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, who is an alleged Tren de Aragua member, at the behest of his wife last year. They met Ortega-Lopez when his wife hired him to do housework, according to a criminal complaint.
The District Attorney’s Office said Cano’s daughter had multiple firearms and let Ortega-Lopez hold, shoot, and pose with them in pictures that were posted on social media.
The feds seized those firearms and arrested Ortega-Lopez in February. Homeland Security said Ortega-Lopez admitted to entering the country illegally in 2023.
Stevens said HSI in Las Cruces is continuing with the ongoing investigation and came back to the judge’s home with an additional search warrant to be able to recover additional evidence on the case, which resulted in two arrests.
“Initially, we came back here to arrest his wife, and as we started conducting our interviews and started looking at evidence, we subsequently arrested Mr. Cano as well,” Stevens said.
Stevens also confirmed that Ortega-Lopez was not the only one living there at the house saying, “three individuals were living there.”
“All three of them, we believe, are alleged members of that (Tren de Aragua). Obviously, we continue just to focus on the totality of the investigation instead of just zeroing out on them,” Stevens said.
Stevens said the two other alleged gang members are in custody.
It’s unknown if Cano or his wife knew of Ortega-Lopez or the other two individuals’ alleged gang affiliation.
According to court documents obtained by KTSM, the Supreme Court and Third Judicial District Court received Cano’s resignation letter on March 31.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham will appoint a new judge who will serve out his term through 2026.
A spokesperson with ICE sent the following statement regarding the arrest of Cano’s wife:
“On April 24, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement executed a search warrant and probable cause arrest at a residence in the 1200 block of North Reymond Street in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Homeland Security Investigations special agents working with federal law enforcement partners, took Nancy Cano into custody as part of an ongoing HSI-led criminal investigation.”
