Tatenda Banga said he broke the law on Thursday when he admitted guilt for sneaking into America with guns and drugs. This 30-year-old man from Zimbabwe crossed through wild forest land between Canada and Washington state. Cameras caught him twice in 2024 near Hozomeen in the North Cascades area. Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller announced that Banga confessed to having firearms as an illegal alien and planning to sell illegal substances.
Judge Jamal N. Whitehead will decide Banga's punishment on June 12. Border cameras first spotted Banga on January 3, 2024, walking into America with a shotgun near Ross Lake. The same day, he damaged another camera near the border. Officers searched, but Banga ran into the woods. They found a loaded Winchester shotgun he left behind. The gun came from Montreal, but police couldn't match fingerprints at that time.
Almost a year later, on December 27, 2024, park rangers found a canoe with a machete and food trash near Ross Dam. Canadian police cameras showed someone with a headlamp heading toward the border. Border agents later saw Banga walking along Highway 20 near Ross Lake. They stopped him because he looked like the person in the camera pictures. Banga carried no papers proving he entered America legally. Agents found scales, capsules, and about 1.4 pounds of MDMA on him.
Agents recognized Banga as the same person who damaged cameras earlier that year. They checked his fingerprints against those on the abandoned shotgun and found a match. His phone also linked him to the gun. Banga faces up to 15 years in prison for having a gun as an illegal alien. The drug charge could bring 20 years. Border Patrol, National Park Service, and Homeland Security worked together on this case. Prosecutors Dane A. Westermeyer and Katherine Collins handle the government's side.
Judge Jamal N. Whitehead will decide Banga's punishment on June 12. Border cameras first spotted Banga on January 3, 2024, walking into America with a shotgun near Ross Lake. The same day, he damaged another camera near the border. Officers searched, but Banga ran into the woods. They found a loaded Winchester shotgun he left behind. The gun came from Montreal, but police couldn't match fingerprints at that time.
Almost a year later, on December 27, 2024, park rangers found a canoe with a machete and food trash near Ross Dam. Canadian police cameras showed someone with a headlamp heading toward the border. Border agents later saw Banga walking along Highway 20 near Ross Lake. They stopped him because he looked like the person in the camera pictures. Banga carried no papers proving he entered America legally. Agents found scales, capsules, and about 1.4 pounds of MDMA on him.
Agents recognized Banga as the same person who damaged cameras earlier that year. They checked his fingerprints against those on the abandoned shotgun and found a match. His phone also linked him to the gun. Banga faces up to 15 years in prison for having a gun as an illegal alien. The drug charge could bring 20 years. Border Patrol, National Park Service, and Homeland Security worked together on this case. Prosecutors Dane A. Westermeyer and Katherine Collins handle the government's side.
