Has anyone been to Algodones? Near Yuma

Re: Has anyone been to Algodones?

I've been there once back in January.

It is a real small town.
It's set up to service all the tourists from the US.

It's mostly shops with some bars and resturants mixed in. It's a good place to buy the usual Mexican wares.

Most of the visitors are tourists and the snowbirds (retired people driving RV's).

Not much night life. The parking lot on the US side closes at 8 PM. I believe the border closes at 10 PM.

I don't know where any action in that town is, but it's probably there. You just have to know where to look.

Cmac

try this link
https://www.clubhombre.com/discus/messages/1718/2161.html?1005179147
or do a keyword search with "Algodones"
as the key word

I went to San Luis Saturday. I managed to find Gua Gua, Booby's, and Cascadas. I didn't think any of them were that great. I went to the massage parlor across from Cascadas and got a 1 hr massage from Fabiola. She was hot but had a bad attitude. The massage was $40 and sex was $70. She wanted $120. I went to La Posta and it sucked. I will not be going back to San Luis nor Algodones. TJ, Nogales, and Rocky Point are much better.

Don't take photos of any girls / women or else this could happen to you:

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20090120/NEWS01/701209834

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20090127/NEWS01/701279850&news01ad=1

In case the above links expire, here's a complete text:
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Published: Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Family protests Arlington man's jailing in Mexico

The family of an Arlington man and son blames corruption for their arrest.

By Debra Smith
Herald Writer

ARLINGTON -- Edward Chrisman just wanted to take a day trip across the Mexican border with his grandson.

Now, the 88-year-old Arlington man and his grandson are being held in a Mexican federal prison with no release in sight.

Chrisman was spending his winter in Yuma, Ariz., when his grandson, Gary Chrisman Jr., invited him along on a trip to get inexpensive dental treatment.

Mexican police arrested the pair Jan. 8 on pornography charges after Gary Chrisman took a photo of two fully clothed young women in a convenience store in Algodones, Mexico.

For nearly two weeks the Chrismans' family has been scrambling. Both men say they are innocent. Their relatives are convinced the pair are victims of a corrupt system attempting to shake down the family for cash, said Shannon Perkins, Edward Chrisman's granddaughter.

She and her father, Gary Chrisman Sr. of Yuma, have traveled across the border daily.

"When they see Americans, they see money," Perkins said of the Mexican justice officials they've met. "Every one of them is crooked."

Edward Chrisman is an unlikely international criminal.

An Arlington resident for most of his life, Chrisman is described by family as a religious man who has attended the Arlington Assembly of God Church for decades. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He worked as a civil service machinist for the Navy before retiring years ago.

Edward Chrisman was married to his wife, Norma, for 63 years. He cared for her until her death from Alzheimer's in 2007.

"How in heaven's name could this happen in our world today?" asked Kathy Carlin, who works at Chrisman's church. "Talk about the epitome of innocent. This just blows me away."

The church of 350 is in shock, she said. Chrisman is "like the church grandpa," she said.

Here's what family says happened:

Chrisman and his 40-year-old grandson traveled from Yuma to Algodones, Mexico, eight miles south. The town is known for offering heavily discounted prescriptions and cut-rate medical and dental care.

After Gary Chrisman's dental work, the pair stopped at a convenience store. Edward Chrisman waited in the car while his grandson went to buy a soda. Gary Chrisman said he asked a family in the convenience store if he could pay them $25 to take their photos. He'd been taking photos of Mexican culture all day with a new camera.

The mother granted permission and took his money. He snapped headshots of her two daughters, 17 and 18, and left the store.

The elder Chrisman never got out of the car.

Local police arrested both men a few minutes later. Their money, passports and other belongings were taken. The pair were placed in a holding cell in Morelos. The charge: "intent for pornography."

The men later told family that for two days they had nothing to eat and no place to use the bathroom. On the third day, a charitable organization brought them food, blankets and an old mattress to sleep on. Gary Chrisman asked the man delivering the items to contact his family.

Gary Chrisman's family hired a Mexican lawyer, who seemed confident the charges had no merit. After six days, the case was brought in front of a judge. Both men were asked questions about their annual incomes. The family was told both men were found innocent. The judge said they'd be released the next day.

But when the family came to pick up the men, authorities said the verdict had been changed. Both men were transferred to a prison in Mexicali, the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California Norte.

Authorities refused to share court documents with the family.

Perkins fears her grandfather won't survive.

Saturday, the only visiting day, Perkins waited in line for hours to see the two. They were being held in a concrete cell with 40 other prisoners. The room had one toilet and her grandfather had been sleeping on a metal bed frame with no mattress.

He looked dehydrated and disoriented, she said. The prisoners leave the cell twice a day, when they're shackled together and ordered to move at a jog to the cafeteria. At one point, her grandfather couldn't keep up and a guard shoved him, Perkins said.

Her grandfather is a soft-spoken, gentle man, she said. He didn't complain.

"He's a trouper," she said.

Family in Yuma have contacted legislators, including Sen. John McCain's office, and the U.S. consulate in Mexico.

"The U.S. Consulate repeatedly told us all they can do legally is make sure the prisoners are cared for and treated humanely," Perkins said. "They can't advise us."

They also tried to contact Congressman Rick Larson and Sen. Patty Murray.

The consulate has suggested another Mexican lawyer and started an investigation. No trial date has been set. The family has been told the pair could linger in prison for months.

Calls from The Herald to the Mexican Secretary of Public Security in Baja California, the organization that runs the courts, were not answered.

Perkins said that her family already has paid $3,000 to attorneys and others in the Mexican justice system, all of whom offered resolution in the case.

Guilt or innocence seems immaterial, Perkins said, adding "The longer you're there, the more money you pay."

La Raza del Noroueste Reporter Alejandro Dominguez contributed to this story.

The complete article from the second link in case the link expires (amazing, they've been in jail for 3 weeks):
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Published: Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Arlington man in Mexican jail may get help

An Arlington man and his grandson are being held. An official says he'll act quickly.

By Debra Smith
Herald Writer
and Alejandro Dominguez
La Raza del Noroeste

ARLINGTON -- A leader in a Mexican border town says he is trying to quickly resolve the case of an 88-year-old Arlington man locked up in a Mexican prison.

Hector Guzman is a municipal delegate for the town of Algodones. That's where Edward Chrisman was arrested Jan. 8 after a trip to the dentist with his grandson. On Monday, Guzman met with family of the Arlington man.

"We don't want to taint the image (of Algodones)," Guzman said in Spanish. "We are searching for what happened. If they are not guilty, we will help in any way we can."

The Chrisman family has been fighting to get Edward Chrisman and his grandson, Gary Chrisman Jr., released from what they say are trumped-up charges from Mexican officials intent on shaking the family down for cash. The men have been held for nearly three weeks.

The stress is taking a toll on Edward Chrisman. Deep coughs wrack his body and he appears to be suffering from pneumonia, son Gary Chrisman Sr. said. His once healthy father now cannot walk without help.

"He's afraid he's going to die in there," Chrisman said. "There seems to be no hope."

The jailed men's family spent two hours with Guzman on Monday in Algodones.

"He said they'd been illegally charged and illegally held and he was going to demand their release," Chrisman said, adding the official told him the men could be released in three or four days.

In an interview, Guzman denied making any comments about guilt, innocence or potential corruption in Mexico.

"We act according with the law," he said.

Algodones is just across the border from Yuma, Ariz., and it's known for cut-rate dental and medical services. American retirees, spending the winter in the desert sun, flock across the border daily.

As a delegate, Guzman said his role is to represent the interests of his town to the mayor of Mexicali, where the men are being held in prison.

Guzman said he has no role in deciding the case, but he can explain the Mexican legal system to the family. He said he's seen the file on the Chrismans and it contains 28 photos, none of which appeared pornographic to him.

The charges against Edward Chrisman and Gary Chrisman Jr. have "changed from attempt of child pornography to corrupting a minor," he said.

The legal issue is what Gary Chrisman Jr. said to two girls in a convenience store, Guzman said. Police have heard two versions of the story, but both include an offer of money for photos, he said.

According to a police document, written in Spanish, the Chrismans are accused of approaching a 13-year-old girl in her mother's business on Jan. 8 and asking to take pictures of her naked. The girl's mother reported the incident to police. Both men reportedly were in the store at the time.

Another employee of the store told police she accepted money three days earlier from the same men who paid her to pose fully clothed for photographs, according to the document.

The woman said the younger Chrisman took the photographs and also gave her the money. She also said he offered her money if she would pose nude, but she declined, and he left a phone number, the document said.

"We are looking for the parents of the girls so everything can be cleared up," Guzman said.

The family of Edward Chrisman and Gary Chrisman Jr. say that story is bogus.

Edward Chrisman, a longtime resident of Arlington, was wintering in Yuma when he decided to take a trip across the border with his grandson, Gary Chrisman Jr. Gary Chrisman had been traveling across the border for the previous few days for dental work. Mexican police arrested both men the same day, Jan. 8.

The family said Gary Chrisman Jr. stopped at a convenience store for a soda and, while there, asked a mother if he could take photos of her daughters. He'd been taking photos of Mexican culture all day with a new camera. The mother granted permission and he gave her $25. He snapped headshots of the two fully-clothed girls and left the store. Edward Chrisman never even went into the store.

The family said it's common for people in Mexico to demand money if their photo is taken.

Today the family released black-and-white photocopies of photographs from Gary Chrisman Jr.'s camera. The family's lawyer obtained the photos from the police file.

The photos are grainy and difficult to see, but none appear pornographic. The photos include street scenes, a man working in a restaurant and headshots of two smiling women in front of a dental office sign.

The Chrisman family doesn't know who or what to believe.

They're afraid if they say too much or say the wrong thing, it could mean the worst for their loved ones, said Gary Chrisman Sr.

"I'm afraid for their safety," he said. "I was warned not to say anything about the system or corruption."

Meanwhile, Edward Chrisman continues to grow weaker in prison. His granddaughter, Shannon Perkins, joined Gary Chrisman Sr. in visiting Saturday.

"Grandpa doesn't look good at all," Perkins said. "He seems more frail. The stress is taking a toll on him."

Edward Chrisman has been moved to a section of the jail for the elderly, where he's treated better. Edward Chrisman told family he shares a room with four other man, sleeps on a mattress and can take warm showers.

"He's in a little better area now," Gary Chrisman Sr. said. "He just wants out. He's discouraged and dispirited. He doesn't understand why he's in there."

Gary Chrisman Jr. sleeps in a 10-by-10-foot room on a concrete floor with about 25 other men. Physically, he's holding up fine, his father said.

A Mount Vernon woman who traveled to Algodones for dental work said she bumped into the Chrismans at the Sani Dental Group in Algodones. Janet Graafstra struck up a conversation with the men sitting in the waiting room. Like them, she was traveling over the border multiple days to get her teeth worked on.

On Jan. 8, Gary Chrisman Jr. offered to give her a ride across the border when his dental work was through. She'd walked into Mexico.

"He said I'll pick you up on the way out," she said. "And they never showed."

Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@heraldnet.com.
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA

Pretty sad situation for the older man.. Still cant figure out why you would pay $25 to take pictures of families in Mexico.. Was he paying everyone for all of the photos he took in algodones..

Something doesnt add up here... I think they offered the mom and another lady money to take nude pics and a misunderstanding took place, maybe the mom thought they were talking about the girl??

Mom gets upset and tells police and the arrest is made..

HB, I think you are right, there has got to be more to this story. Who pays $25 to take someones pic? either way, I hope they get out of there.

No nude photos were in the camera, so it's a "he says, she says" case. Since "she says" are two local chicas, it doesn't look good for the Americans.

http://www.kswt.com/Global/story.asp?S=9758584&nav=menu613_2_5