Elba Soto Indicted for Helping Husband Flee to Mexico

Elba Soto, 36, of Moreno Valley, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges she helped her husband, Jose Guadalupe Vega-Zuniga, flee to Mexico to avoid sentencing in a federal immigration case. The two-count indictment returned Wednesday charges Soto with being an accessory after the fact and making false statements to the U.S. Marshals Service.

Soto’s husband, Vega-Zuniga, pleaded guilty on August 3 to illegal reentry after deportation—a charge stemming from his fourth unauthorized return to the U.S. after being deported between 2000 and 2008. At the time of his guilty plea in Los Angeles before U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald, he was free on a $100,000 unsecured bond and under electronic monitoring.

Just four days after pleading guilty, Vega-Zuniga cut off his monitoring bracelet. On August 8, a woman resembling Elba Soto walked into the court’s Pretrial Services Office and handed over the device, claiming she didn’t know where her husband was. Investigators now allege that Soto orchestrated his escape.

U.S. Marshals uncovered evidence that Soto’s vehicle crossed into Mexico through the Otay Mesa port of entry on August 18. Security footage shows Soto driving and Vega-Zuniga seated beside her. The timing and visuals directly contradict her earlier claims of not knowing his whereabouts.

If convicted on both counts, Soto faces a statutory maximum of 15 years in federal prison. She is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. Arraignment is set for October 19 in U.S. District Court in Riverside, where she remains in custody without bond.

“The evidence in this case indicates the defendant knowingly transported her husband to Mexico while he was pending sentencing,” said U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “If these allegations are proven, the defendant knowingly assisted a convicted felon avoid justice. As a result, the defendant now faces her own criminal case and a significant prison term.”

RELATED: Moreno Valley Woman Indicted for Helping Husband Flee to Mexico

RELATED: Repeat Offenders Back in Court: Illegal Re-Entry Cases