Sometimes life’s 15 minutes of fame isn’t such a good thing, especially if federal agents are looking for you in connection with six kilos of cocaine.
Last Tuesday, Daniel Ayala was being lauded in newspapers and on TV for climbing up a power pole to rescue Benjamin "Benjie" Mitchell, a V.I. Water and Power Authority lineman who was seriously injured when he brushed against an energized wire during restoration efforts in the wake of Hurricane Lenny. While Mitchell was helplessly hanging upside down above Estate Profit, Ayala rushed out of a nearby home, shinnied up the pole and supported the 28-year WAPA supervisor until help arrived.
To pay tribute for the highly publicized rescue, WAPA had scheduled a ceremony for Ayala on Friday. However, the 21-year-old hero never made it because federal agents arrested him earlier in the morning on drug charges.
U.S. Assistant Attorney Hugh Mabe said Luis Daniel Ayala Hernandez was arrested Friday on a warrant issued in Puerto Rico on Nov. 18 for possession with the intent to distribute cocaine. The warrant alleges that when U.S. Customs agents on Vieques tried to examine Ayala’s bags on Nov. 13, he ran away. Agents subsequently found six kilos of cocaine in the luggage.
Mabe said Ayala is being detained until Monday when he will go to court for a combination detention, probable cause and removal hearing. Ayala’s heroics, however, won’t be considered at Monday’s proceeding, Mabe said.
"This is this particular criminal case," Mabe said. "That’s the focus."
Mitchell, meanwhile, is recovering from his injuries in a Tampa, Fla., burn unit, said WAPA spokeswoman Patricia Blake Simmonds. Mitchell was interviewed on a local radio station on Friday and Simmonds said WAPA management had also spoken with him. She said Mitchell’s vital signs were good and he was taking pain medication.
