Abby's Bakery owners to stand trial next week, government equipped with new alleged offenses

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The owners of Abby's Bakery in Los Fresnos are set to go to trial next week after being arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier this year.

New documents obtained by ValleyCentral indicate the government is equipped with information regarding how the owners of the brick and mortar employed their staff, and even went as far as to note that they hired workers to mow their lawns.

All this is anticipated to be used in the courtroom during Leonardo Baez and Nora Alicia Avila-Guel's trial.

The couple owns Abby’s Bakery and Dulce’s Cafe in Los Fresnos and has been charged with harboring workers present in the U.S. and aiding and abetting the harboring.

On Feb. 12, they were arrested after an anonymous tip made to the Homeland Security Investigations tip line advised that there were people working at the bakery and that the owners were harboring workers.

When ICE raided the bakery, Baez and Avila-Guel were charged with having eight people present in the country illegally at their business.

As previously reported by ValleyCentral, law enforcement agents found a room in the same shopping center where the restaurant is located. The room was reportedly used to house the workers.

The raid on Abby's Bakery was the first of many in the Rio Grande Valley that gained media attention. It evoked strong emotions from the Los Fresnos community and those who surround it. Since the arrests of Baez and Avila-Guel and the deportations of those involved in the case, many have followed.

ValleyCentral reached out to the attorneys representing Baez and Avila-Guel for comment on the significance of the trial's outcome. Sergio Luis Villarreal, the attorney representing Baez, briefly spoke with ValleyCentral, noting that he was working diligently to prepare for trial on Monday. Avila-Guel's attorney, however, has yet to get back to us.

Records indicate that Baez and Avila-Guel are set to have their final pre-trial hearing conference Thursday.

Prior to this, ValleyCentral was able to obtain a "notice of intent to offer extraneous offenses" in relation to the case, which may provide some insight into what we can expect to be discussed during this trial.

The document, filed June 23, states that the government may intend to use one or more of the following "extraneous offenses" in this trial to show motive and intent from the owners of Abby's in harboring these workers.

According to statements collected by the defendants in this case, the government may mention the following alleged offenses:

• Baez and Avila-Guel's failure to fill out or file USCIS Form I-9 for their employees
• Their failure to participate in the H-2B Program or any other non-immigrant visa program, or use E-Verify during their hiring process
• Their unlawful employment of two people who were present in the country illegally at Abby's Bakery and Dulce's Cafe
• Baez's transportation of an illegally present person from a house where he was allegedly smuggled into the U.S. to Abby's.
• Their unlawful employment of B1/B2 visa holders, of which there were six
• Their unlawful employment of a man who mowed their lawn at home who was illegally present in the country

Jury selection for their case is set for Monday, July 14, before Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr.