Castle Park HS senior charged with distributing drugs, smuggling undocumented immigrants

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) — A high school senior at Castle Park High School was charged in federal court Monday with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and bringing in unlawful aliens, including a Mexican national and Chinese national, for financial gain.

Phillip Junior Web was arraigned Monday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Bernard G. Skomal.

According to the court documents, the defendant was a high school senior who recruited other high school students to smuggle methamphetamine and fentanyl into the United States on multiple occasions, including on July 1, 2017 (juvenile attempted to smuggle methamphetamine), September 19, 2017 (two juveniles attempted to smuggle methamphetamine), September 27, 2017 (juvenile attempted to smuggle methamphetamine), and October 23, 2017 (juvenile attempted to smuggle fentanyl).

On each of these occasions, the juveniles had drugs strapped on their bodies as they attempted to enter the United States at the San Ysidro or Otay Mesa Ports of Entry.

Last Friday, defendant Webb was caught attempting to bring in a Chinese national and Mexican national into the United States in the trunk of his vehicle. The defendant’s next court appearance is on May 10, 2018 for a detention hearing and May 21, 2018 for a preliminary examination before Judge Skomal.

In an unrelated criminal complaint, defendant Alejandro Barba was charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. According to the complaint, agents saw a juvenile briefly enter Barba’s parked vehicle at the San Ysidro High School parking lot, remove items from his backpack, and then exit Barba’s vehicle. Barba, the sole occupant and driver, was stopped and agents found five kilograms of methamphetamine in his back seat.

According to the complaint, the unnamed juvenile had smuggled the methamphetamine through the border earlier that day.

Barba will appear for his initial appearance later this week.

“We are seeing a very troubling trend and we want to warn parents and high schoolers,” said U.S. Attorney Adam L. Braverman. “Our youth are being recruited by drug cartels to smuggle dangerous drugs across the border. We are going after the recruiters who exploit these kids, but the kids also need to know that they are gambling with their lives when they do this. Don’t throw away your future.”