Abby's Bakery owners post bail

LOS FRESNOS, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The owners of Abby's Bakery in Los Fresnos have posted bail.

Leonardo Baez and Nora Alicia Avila-Guel identified themselves to authorities as the owners of Abby’s Bakery and were charged after eight people present in the country illegally were found at their business on Feb. 12.

Baez and Avila-Guel are charged with harboring people illegally present in the U.S. and aiding and abetting the harboring, according to a criminal complaint.

On Friday, the two appeared in court and were issued respective bond amounts of $100,000 with a $15,000 cash deposit.

The owners each posted their bail Monday.

According to the U.S. Southern District Court of Texas Baez and Avila-Guel are not allowed to leave the Rio Grande Valley and have a curfew of midnight to 6 a.m.

Background

Baez and Avila-Guel admitted that they knew the people they were allegedly harboring were unlawfully present in the country and that they harbored them in the property that they personally owned, according to the criminal complaint.

Two of the people who were present in the country illegally identified Baez and Avila-Guel as the bakery owners and the duo that harbored them and others.

According to the complaint, the apprehension of the individuals was the result of a worksite enforcement action.

“Post event, the facts of the event were presented to the duty AUSA, who agreed there was sufficient cause for a complaint for harboring and accepted prosecution,” the complaint stated.

ValleyCentral obtained the documents concerning this arrest just one day after a video posted on Facebook showed what appears to be an ICE raid at the same location.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued the following statement on the arrests saying they were conducting a worksite enforcement action on the bakery:

“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted a worksite enforcement action at Abby’s Bakery is in response to information or allegations received by ICE Homeland Security Investigations. Any allegation received is taken seriously and may result in an investigation.”

To read more about how the community is reacting to this arrest, see our previous coverage.