TEXANS IN REYNOSA PRISON EXPECT TO BE TRANSFERRED TO U.S.

McALLEN, Texas -(AP)- Two Americans imprisoned 11 months ago in Reynosa,
Mexico, for possession of narcotics could be transferred to a facility in
the United States on Monday.

Natalie LaBarr, a 23-year-old from McKinney, and Jason Lasseter, 24, of
Garland were arrested Oct. 14, 1999, in Reynosa on charges of carrying 90
Valium and 112 Xanax.

Mexican authorities said the quantity they were carrying was more than could
be considered reasonable for personal use.

Ms. LaBarr and Mr. Lasseter said that they purchased the medication to help
them break their heroin habit, The Monitor of McAllen reported in Saturday's
editions.

Heroin withdrawal can cause a violent physical reaction, and doctors
sometimes prescribe painkillers and anti-anxiety medication to treat
symptoms.

Ms. LaBarr and Mr. Lasseter are among about 30 U.S. citizens in Monterrey,
Mexico, undergoing the final stages of the transfer process. Attorneys from
the U.S. federal public defender's office are meeting with prisoners to
discuss their cases, said Liz Rogers, associate federal public defender.

Although their sentences in the U.S. prison system will not be final until
reviewed by a parole board, the public defenders can give them an idea of
sentences they will face in the United States.

If they decide that they still want to transfer, they will see a U.S.
magistrate Monday morning in Monterrey and depart soon after.

Mr. Lasseter's mother, Marcy Lasseter, said she is relieved that her son may
be returning, but concerned that evidence favorable to him might have been
removed from his file.

"It's going to make them look guilty of something that they're not guilty
of," she said. "But I'm greatly relieved because they're out of that prison
in Reynosa. I think that if they were there an indefinite amount of time,
they would not survive."

According to Mexican authorities, prisoners accepted into the transfer
program will go from Monterrey to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, by plane. From
there they will go directly to the Federal Correctional Institution La Tuna
in Anthony, on the Texas-New Mexico border.