Arizona deputy shot by alleged undocumented immigrant, officials say

[3CTactical]

And here we go...fuel for the fire

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/04/30/arizona.deputy.shot/


(CNN) -- A sheriff's deputy in central Arizona was shot Friday afternoon by an alleged illegal immigrant, authorities said.

The shooting comes amid a national debate over Arizona's tough new immigration law that allows police to demand proof of legal residency. Arizona lawmakers say the law is needed because the federal government has failed to enforce border security with Mexico, allowing more than 450,000 illegal immigrants to move into the state.

The Pinal County deputy, who was not immediately identified, contacted authorities after being wounded in the desert, saying he had been shot by an illegal immigrant with an AK-47, said Lt. Tammy Villar, a sheriff's spokeswoman.

At one point, the deputy lost radio contact with authorities, leading to a search by foot and by air for him and the shooter, according to CNN affiliate KNXV. Video from the scene shows that the deputy was located while sitting in desert brush, surrounded by cactus. He was able to walk to a helicopter that airlifted him to a hospital.

KNXV: Deputy stopped five suspects

A spokeswoman at Casa Grande Regional Medical Center confirmed that the deputy was being treated there Friday evening. He was in good condition with stable vital signs, conscious and comfortable, she said.

KPNX: Deputy expected to survive

The search for the shooter continued into the evening.

Pinal County is between Phoenix and Tucson and has been described as a key transit point for illegal immigrants and drug traffickers. Sheriff Paul Babeu said an estimated 80 percent of illegal immigrants eventually pass through his county along the way to other locations.

Earlier this week, a CNN crew spent 12 hours on patrol with Pinal County deputies. In that time, the deputies captured more than 50 suspected illegal immigrants and about 2,000 pounds of marijuana.

Deputies in the department routinely patrol for illegal immigrants and smugglers, and it is not uncommon for them to be in the field alone, officials said. It was not immediately clear what led the deputy to engage with the shooter Friday.

The shooting is sure to heat up the debate around the new Arizona law. Critics say the law is unconstitutional and will lead to racial profiling, which is illegal. But Republican Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and others who support the bill say it does not involve profiling or other illegal acts and will cut down on illegal immigration.

"Frankly this is just a very horrible story, but we should not generalize," Alfonso Aguilar, former chief of the U.S. Citizenship Office, told CNN's Rick Sanchez when news of Friday's shooting broke. "We should focus on the criminality of the drug traffickers ... not scapegoat undocumented immigrants who do not pose any threat to society."

Brewer on Friday signed a bill that makes changes to the immigration law, saying the changes will ease concerns about racial profiling.

The law, which will go into effect in 90 days, has already drawn at least two lawsuits and condemnation from the Mexican government and other Latin American nations. Prominent entertainers, including Shakira and Linda Ronstadt, also have spoken against the law. Some critics are calling for a boycott of Arizona, urging tourists to stay away and that no one do business with companies in the state.

[Trajan]

This issue I find with the left complaining that illegal immigrants will now be violent, is that they're still criminals. Drug dealers are violent, should we not bother going after them? Murderers are violent, why don't we just leave them alone?

[VooDoo6Actual]

The HITS just keep on coming.

[Dienekes]

Quote from the above: "Frankly this is just a very horrible story, but we should not generalize," Alfonso Aguilar, former chief of the U.S. Citizenship Office, told CNN's Rick Sanchez when news of Friday's shooting broke. "We should focus on the criminality of the drug traffickers ... not scapegoat undocumented immigrants who do not pose any threat to society."

As a retired INS agent, I just love Aguilar's apologist attitude. Enforcing existing law in the case of people who are illegally in the US is NOT "scapegoating". He sounds like a frustrated social worker who was happy to cash his paycheck while undermining his country.

Sort of like Congress.

[glocktogo]

This is completely unvetted, but here's something I just got in an email. Take it for what it's worth. Very disturbing if true. :mad:


Subject: Krentz (Arizona) shooting

Kinda long, but the drug wars don’t stay south of the border!!!

Have been in that area and have crossed the border at Naco as well as many other points from San Diego, CA to Port Isabel, Texas, both legally and illegally.... we the US do NOT have the resources to adequately make it impenetratable ... also, we have no idea what comes south from our Canadian border of hundreds of miles.... it is physically impossible, even with today's technology to defend them!!!!

Governor Jan Brewer, of Arizona, signed a New Immigration Law which allows any law enforcement officer to ask ANYONE for identification as a legal resident, or citizen of the U.S. (RACIAL PROFILING BE DAMNED!) Obama immediately labeled the law as "Misguided"...typical response, don't you think ????


Background info on the Krentz (Arizona) shooting that you didn't hear from the news media:

As you know, one of the local ranchers was murdered in Douglas, AZ two weeks ago. His funeral is tomorrow. I received three messages similar to the one below from different officers within the Rangers and law enforcement.

Yesterday afternoon I talked to another rancher near us who is a friend of ours and whose great grandfather started their ranch here in 1880. These are good people. He told me what really happened out at the Krentz ranch
and what you won't read in the papers. The Border Patrol is afraid of starting a small war between civilians here and the drug cartels in Mexico.

Bob Krentz was checking his water like he does every evening and came upon an illegal who was lying on the ground telling him he was sick. Bob called the Border Patrol and asked for a medical helicopter evac. As he turned to go back to his ATV, he was shot in the side. The round came from down and angled up so they know the shooter was on the ground. Bob's firearm was in the ATV so he had no chance. Wounded, he called the Cochise County Sherriff and asked for help. Bleeding in the lungs, he called his brother, but the line was bad, so he called his wife, but again the line was bad.

Several ranchers heard the radio call and drove to his location. Bob was dead by this time. The ranchers tracked the shooter 8 miles back towards Mexico and cornered him in a brushy draw. This was all at night. The Sherriff and Border Patrol arrived and told them not to go down and engage the murderer. They went around to the back side and if you can believe it the assassin managed to get by a BP helicopter and a Sherriff's posse and back to Mexico. So much for professional help when you need it.

One week before the murder Bob and his brother Phil hauled a huge quantity of drugs off the ranch that they found in trucks. One week before that, a rancher near Naco did the same thing. Two nights later, gangs broke into his ranch house and beat him and his wife and told
them that if they touched any drugs they found they would come back and kill them.

The ranchers here deal with cut fences and haul drug deliveries off their ranches all the time. The other ranchers think is the drug cartels beat the one rancher and shot Bob because they wanted to send a message. Bob always gave food and water to illegals and so they think they sent the assassin to pose as an illegal who was hungry and thirsty knowing it would catch Bob off guard.

What is going on down here is NOT being reported. You need to tell people how bad it is along the border. Texas is worse. Near El Paso it's in a state of war. Over 5000 people were killed in Ciudad Juarez last year and it's over 2000 so far this year. Gun sales down here are through the roof and I get emails from people wanting firearms training.

Something has to be done, but I don't hold out much hope. These gangs have groups in almost every city in the US. Please read below. This is serious business. The Barrio Azteca and their sub gangs are like Mexican Corporations and are organized extremely well. If this doesn't get dealt with down here, you guys will deal with it on your streets.


****

If you want an education on the Mexican drug gang problems,

read the lengthy artical below. It is not just a "border" issue any

longer - all the U.S. of A. will suffer because the federal government

refuses to deal with it!

****

"Mexican 'Assassin Teams' May Target

U.S. Law Enforcement, DHS Warns"

Law enforcement officers in west Texas are on guard following an alert issued by the Department of Homeland Security warning of retaliatory killings for a recent crackdown on the Barrio Azteca gang.

Law enforcement officers in west Texas are on guard following an alert issued by the Department of Homeland Security warning of retaliatory killings for a recent crackdown on the Barrio Azteca gang.

David Cuthbertson, special agent in charge of the FBI's El Paso division, said the paramilitary-style gang has an "open policy" to kill its rivals and may turn its sights toward local law enforcement officers. "[They] are extremely cold-blooded and aggressive," Cuthbertson told
FoxNews.com. "The killings are done really without thought and any kind of remorse."

Citing uncorroborated information, Homeland Security issued an Officer Safety Alert on March 22, advising lawmen in the El Paso sector to vary their routes to and from work and to wear body armor while on duty. The
alert also suggested that officers' relatives pay closer attention to unusual activity in the area.

"The Barrio Azteca gang may issue a 'green light' authorizing the attempted murder of [law enforcement officers] in the El Paso area," the alert read. "Due to the threat, it is recommended that [law enforcement
officers] take extra safety precautions."

The Barrio Azteca gang, which formed in Texas prisons in the 1980s, is a brother organization to the Aztecas gang in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, the epicenter of Mexico's violent drug war, Cuthbertson said.

He said members of the gang's "assassination teams" are thought to work for very small monthly fees. One official from the Drug Enforcement Administration has said Aztecas have been known to kill for as little as
$100. Since 2006, drug violence across Mexico has claimed nearly 18,000 lives.

Eduardo "Tablas" Ravelo, the reputed boss of Barrio Azteca members living in Juarez, remains on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List, and the FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to his arrest. He and other Barrio Azteca gang members serve as hitmen for the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes drug trafficking organization -- also known as the Juarez cartel -- and are responsible for several killings, according to the FBI.

The DHS warning came just days after hundreds of Barrio Azteca gang members were interviewed by officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and FBI following the murders of three people linked to the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez on March 13. More than 200 officers from at least 18 agencies participated in "Operation Knockdown," which resulted in at least 26 felony arrests of alleged Azteca members.

The Barrio Aztecas are believed to be aligned with the Juarez cartel against the Sinaloa drug cartel for control of the billion-dollar drug-trafficking routes through the El Paso-Ciudad Juarez corridor. Since 2008, the Aztecas have been rivals of the Artistic Assassins, or "Double A's," who serve as contract killers for the Sinaloa cartel, Cuthbertson
said.

"They're very organized," he said. "They have a code they go by and certainly a communication network inside and outside of the prison system."

Cuthbertson said Barrio Azteca gang members have been found in central Texas towns like Odessa and Midland, as well as in southern New Mexico. Ricardo Valles de la Rosa, an Azteca sergeant, said last week in a purported confession that his gang was hunting for the vehicle of a Texas jail guard who was killed in one of two SUVs attacked in the March 13 shootings that killed El Paso jail officer Arthur Redelfs, his wife Lesley Enriquez, who worked as an employee of the U.S. consulate in Ciudad
Juarez, and Jorge Alberto Salcido, the husband of another consulate worker.

Valles de la Rosa, according to his statement, was instructed by Azteca brass to target Redelfs due to alleged harsh treatment of Azteca members in jail. Valles de la Rosa was ordered last week to be held for trial on
weapons charges for allegedly carrying a 9mm pistol when he was arrested.

Ron Martin, president of the El Paso Municipal Police Officers' Association, said that while he takes any threat to the law enforcement community seriously, he won't change his habits. "It's not the first time a gang has put a hit out on El Paso police officers," Martin said. "Our guys are very highly trained, so they're pretty well prepared for just about anything. For them to come out and attack a law enforcement officer in the United States would be detrimental to their business."

Martin called the March 13 killings "unacceptable" and said he felt the killings were no less shocking because they occurred in Mexico, just across the border, rather than in El Paso or elsewhere in Texas. "It doesn't matter if it actually happens across an imaginary dotted line, they're killing people for money," he said. "It's unacceptable."

Asked if he had changed his daily routines since the DHS alert, Martin said: "It's not like we're doing anything different because a bunch of murderers -- I call 'em terrorists -- are threatening us. Personally, I don't do anything differently than I did before. We're not changing the way we do our job because of them."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Honu]

hope he has a full recovery and a speedy one !!!!!
even shooting at the helicopters now !!!!

time to step up the security on the border big time !!!

[Grayling14]

The drug cartels have become so brazen in their own country that they openly target LE who dare to challenge them. Now they think that they can intimidate the LE in our country too. We are often too soft on crime, (including illegal aliens), and that has only emboldened the cartels and their minions. The only solution, (other than letting the bleed-heart liberals give our country away), is to commit adequate resources to the effort, enforce our laws, and take the fight to the cartels with such force that they cannot survive.

[ThirdWatcher]

"Frankly this is just a very horrible story, but we should not generalize," Alfonso Aguilar, former chief of the U.S. Citizenship Office, told CNN's Rick Sanchez when news of Friday's shooting broke. "We should focus on the criminality of the drug traffickers ... not scapegoat undocumented immigrants who do not pose any threat to society."

This really is utter horse$#!+. The last three LEO's KIA in my region were murdered by illegal aliens. Federal Government, if you did the job we pay you to do states like Arizona wouldn't be forced to do your job for you.

BTW, nothing against my fellow officers that work for the US Government. I just want the politicians to stay out of law enforcement.

[QuietShootr]

I was about to criticize CNN for the wording "alleged undocumented immigrant" but they used the proper term "illegal alien". Why the change in the thread title?

[QuietShootr]

Quote from the above: "Frankly this is just a very horrible story, but we should not generalize," Alfonso Aguilar, former chief of the U.S. Citizenship Office, told CNN's Rick Sanchez when news of Friday's shooting broke. "We should focus on the criminality of the drug traffickers ... not scapegoat undocumented immigrants who do not pose any threat to society."
.

Hey, Alfonse:

http://wardchurchilltrial.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/johnny-cash-finger.jpg

[3CTactical]

I was about to criticize CNN for the wording "alleged undocumented immigrant" but they used the proper term "illegal alien". Why the change in the thread title?

That's just the title they used on the webpage - I just copied and pasted.

[RioGrandeGreen]

That's just the title they used on the webpage - I just copied and pasted.

They are not illegal aliens or undocumented immigrants or whatever they want to call them. They are drug smugglers, mules, backpackers who carry large burlap backpacks laden with 40-60 pounds of MJ. Just like drug dealers on your corner they are usually armed to protect their load from other smugglers or LEO's.

[LMT42]

The drug cartels have become so brazen in their own country that they openly target LE who dare to challenge them. Now they think that they can intimidate the LE in our country too. We are often too soft on crime, (including illegal aliens), and that has only emboldened the cartels and their minions. The only solution, (other than letting the bleed-heart liberals give our country away), is to commit adequate resources to the effort, enforce our laws, and take the fight to the cartels with such force that they cannot survive.

It never ceases to amaze me how complicated we make this issue. How many years, and how many billions (trillions?) of dollars, have been spent on the war on drugs? Has it gotten us anywhere?

It's very simple, legalize marijuana and cocain and cut the legs out from under the cartels. Then divert some of the money wasted on this "war" to addiction treatment. It's working quite well in Portugal.

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,00.html

[M4arc]

Some critics are calling for a boycott of Arizona, urging tourists to stay away and that no one do business with companies in the state.

Hell I don't know about the rest of you but I want to travel and vacation in AZ even more after they signed that bill!