Source: Los Angeles Times Contact: Thu, 7 Aug 1997 Page: A 8 U.S. Border Agent Found With 500 Pounds of Pot San Diego A Border Patrol agent assigned to a lonely stretch frequented by drug smugglers was arrested with more than 500 pounds of marijuana in his patrol vehicle, authorities said yesterday. The agent, Thomas Bair, was arrested early Tuesday in eastern San Diego County after fellow agents told supervisors that he was behaving suspiciously, Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Rodney Adams said. Bair was held without bail, accused of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, federal prosecutors said. The arrest occurred at a time when the Border Patrol finds itself at the frontlines of the war against narcotics traffic. U.S. officials suspect 70 percent of illegal narcotics entering the United States comes over the U.S.Mexico border. A significant portion is believed to move through San Diego, often on lonely back roads like the dirt track outside the U.S. border town of Tecate where the Tuesday incident allegedly began. The two Border Patrol agents who reported the incident told the DEA they came upon Bair after midnight on Tecate Mission Road. He seemed to be attempting to kick something under his vehicle, according to the statement of a DEA agent. The agents spotted military style duffel bags in the rear passenger seat, stuffed with what appeared to be marijuana, the DEA statement said. Bair was edgy and confrontational, the report said. "Bair began shouting that the agents were not supposed to be there and that they had ruined everything," the statement said. One Border Patrol agent said he thought he heard people running away toward Mexico in the darkness. When he asked if they should pursue them, Bair told them no, the DEA account said. The agents left the scene and notified supervisors. A short time later, Bair arrived at a Border Patrol checkpoint, where the agents were reporting the incident to a DEA agent, and he turned in the marijuana. Bair told one DEA agent he was aware of drug trafficking in the area and had intended to intercept the drugs and become the "hero" of his unit, according to a DEA statement filed in court.