A U.S. Army soldier stationed in Colorado, who was involved in security for an underground nightclub that was the site of a federal raid over the weekend, has been arrested on federal drug charges, court records show.
Staff Sgt. Juan Gabriel Orona-Rodriguez, a soldier assigned to Fort Carson, was arrested Wednesday evening, the FBI in Denver said.
A federal complaint alleges Orona-Rodriguez sold cocaine to an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration agent on April 22 near the soldier’s home in Colorado Springs. His text messages also allegedly revealed “months of suspected cocaine trafficking,” according to the complaint.
He was charged by complaint with one count each of distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to distribute cocaine, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado said.
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Orona-Rodriguez was one of 17 active-duty service members present during a federal raid of an “afterhours, unlawful nightclub” in Colorado Springs over the weekend, according to the complaint.
He “appears to hold a leadership/ownership role in a business called Immortal Security LLC,” a company that “provides armed security at ‘nightclubs,'” including the underground club that was the site of the early Sunday DEA raid, the complaint stated.
DEA agents “believe employees of Immortal Security are involved in drug distribution,” the complaint alleged.
Immortal Security employs some active duty and former service members, according to the complaint.
The complaint stated Orona-Rodriguez’s commanding officer informed him in March that Immortal Security “is off limits to members of the Armed Forces” and he is “prohibited in engaging in off-duty employment” without battalion commander approval.
In addition to the alleged drug activity, the soldier is “suspected of unlawfully trafficking firearms, including those with high-capacity magazines, to illegal aliens,” the complaint stated.
ABC News was unable to reach Immortal Security for comment.
Orona-Rodriguez was taken into custody with the assistance of the DEA’s Rocky Mountain Field Division, the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division and Fort Carson officials, the FBI said.
“We will continue to cooperate with all agencies involved,” a Fort Carson official said in a statement on Thursday.
The DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division said it is conducting a joint investigation with the FBI and Army Criminal Investigation Division.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a “nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado said in a press release.
Orona-Rodriguez is scheduled to appear in court at 2 p.m. local time on Thursday. Online court records do not list any attorney information for him.
He does not appear to have any prior felony convictions, according to the complaint.
He has served in the military for over eight years, with his present duty assignment the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, according to Fort Carson. His awards have included an Army Commendation Medal with Combat Device.
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Fort Carson is located south of Colorado Springs.
A Fort Carson spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday that 17 service members, including 16 assigned to Fort Carson, were identified at the scene during the nightclub raid on Sunday and were allowed to leave on their own.
The DEA said it detained more than 200 people — including members of the military — at the unlicensed nightclub.
Among them, 114 illegal migrants were taken into custody, with most from Central and South America, officials said.
Drugs and weapons were also seized at the nightclub, federal authorities said.
ABC News’ Luke Barr, Anne Flaherty and Luis Martinez contributed to this report.
Army soldier in Colorado nightclub raid arrested for allegedly distributing cocaine: FBI originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
