American, not migrant, suspected in AZ rancher killing

As usual, erroneous assumptions were made that tied Krentz' murder to immigrants or drug-smugglers, justifying to many even more militarization at the border - and perhaps the public financing of private mercenary militias. God bless the people who decided to talk to the Daily Star about what's really going on with this investigation - this man's murder in March also brought enraged and undoubtedly armed ranchers to the capitol in April to support SB 1070 in droves. Every single brown-skinned migrant was scapegoated, and Krentz' murder was exploited by people like Russ Pearce to stir up more hysteria and fear. Even McCain is playing up the "immigrants=violent criminals" angle to this day - despite the evidence that it's an outright lie - and I suspect some of those who have been telling it know full well what the truth really is.


The article below still raises questions for me about accuracy. As reported this AM on our local NPR station, KJZZ, violent crime in America actually decreased at the same time to population of undocumented immigrants here doubled. The AZ Republic this weekend reported that violent crime along the border has been flat for the past ten years.  

Other data I've seen reinforces the argument that communities with higher concentrations of immigrants do not experience higher rates of crime; in fact, some communities known to have many undocumented residents are safer than those full of good old American boys. I also strongly suspect that more citizens than non-citizens in this country - definitely in this state - carry guns and are more prone to resolve conflict with violence.

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American is focus in Krentz killing

Brady McCombs  

Arizona Daily Star

Monday, May 3, 2010 12:00 am

The killing of a Southern Arizona rancher that sparked an outcry to secure the border was not random, and investigators are focusing on an American suspect, the Arizona Daily Star has learned.

High-ranking government officials with credible information spoke to the Star, citing a desire to quell the fury over illegal immigration and drug smuggling set off by the shooting death of longtime rancher Robert Krentz on March 27.

They said Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever is investigating a person in the United States, not in Mexico, in connection with the shooting.

The Star's policy is not to use unnamed sources except in instances in which the information is of high public interest.

Reached Sunday by telephone, Dever would not comment.

Krentz was found gunned down on his ranch northeast of Douglas a day after his brother reported drug-smuggling activity to the Border Patrol that led to the seizure of 290 pounds of marijuana and the arrest of eight people on the ranch.

The night of the killing, officers followed a single set of footprints to the U.S.-Mexico border, Dever said.

That sparked widespread speculation that Krentz was killed by an illegal immigrant or a drug smuggler from Mexico. In the ensuing weeks, the killing became symbolic of Arizona's porous and violent border, setting off a flurry of demands from residents, politicians and law enforcement leaders for more troops and resources to the border.

"Rob has become a martyr for this cause, a symbol," U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Hayworth said at a community meeting held on March 31 in the unincorporated community of Apache, near where the Krentz family has worked its 35,000-acre ranch for 100 years.

Many, including Dever, believe the killing propelled into law an immigration-enforcement bill passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Jan Brewer that has thrust Arizona into the international spotlight.

"The fact that it got passed has a lot to do with the reflection and response to the Rob Krentz murder," Dever said from Washington, D.C., on April 20 after testifying before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

During testimony that day, Dever said Krentz "was senselessly gunned down on his own property" and that "his murderer was tracked to the Mexican border, and has since evaded capture," according to a copy of the testimony.

"We cannot sit by while our citizens are terrorized, robbed and murdered by ruthless and desperate people who enter our country illegally," Dever said.

Forty-eight hours after the killing, Dever told reporters that investigators believed the shooting was carried out by one person, but that they didn't know if it was a man or a woman, or the person's nationality. But Dever said they had reports that Krentz made reference to an "illegal alien" over a two-way radio he used to communicate with his brother while working that day on the southern part of their ranch.

"Given the location, (I) guarantee it was not somebody on their way to Walmart to go shopping," Dever said on March 29.

The Southeastern Arizona valley where Krentz was killed is a heavily trafficked people- and drug-smuggling corridor that has seen an increase in burglaries in recent years. Sheriff's investigators and most residents believe the crimes are being committed by drug smugglers heading back to Mexico.

Ranchers and residents in the valley said the Krentz killing had cemented the transformation of illegal border activity from irritating to deadly.

Politicians from both parties across the country have weighed in on the killing and proposed plans for how to protect border residents.

Dever himself has appeared in political ads for candidates advocating for more border enforcement, including a new radio spot for Sen. John McCain.

In it, Dever says, "The drug wars in Mexico spilled over into our state - burglaries, home invasions, even murder."

On StarNet: Find extensive coverage of immigration and border issues at azstarnet.com/news/local/border

Contact reporter Brady McCombs at 573-4213 or bmccombs@azstarnet.com

Deputy shot; AZ Militia plans"Cinco De Ammo."

From Stephen Lemons' blog, "The Feathered Bastard," at the Phoenix New Times. The rally last night in Phoenix to legalize medical marijuana (a ballot initiative petition drive is underway) was timely; if pot was legalized for all and we could buy it at a pharmacy or grow our own, we could do a lot to boost Arizona's economy and tax base, and cut down on all the crime that accompanies drug-smuggling.

As for this story, we'll see how it plays out, but it looks like it's going to just be uglier than it already was. How it was determined that these guys are "possibly undocumented" - except that they are "Hispanic" - is unclear, and asserting that assumption alone at this particular time disturbs me.

I've read and heard other accounts of what happened with this deputy. It's too bad this guy was following these suspects so long in the desert alone, or they might have caught them and avoided gunfire. Since they were on foot, you'd think he could have gotten back-up with helicopters and everything before they even had a chance to spot and fire on him - especially if they were lugging a bunch of marijuana with no vehicle (how did he know what they had?).

Not that I don't believe the deputy's account; it's just a considerable amount of conjecture has been embedded in the "news" reporting of it. It doesn't appear as if he was actually able to check his suspects' documents or cargo while they were shooting at him. Reportedly, they fired about 20-30 semi-automatic weapon rounds before taking off.

I'm boycotting drug cartels, by the way, because of the violence - and would like to add to that list Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and all the other pharmaceutical pushers that exploit patients, torture animals, and kill third world "subjects" for profit, while depriving others of life-saving treatment if they can't make a buck from them. If medical progress via pharmaceuticals is a gift from God, those guys have absconded with something that belongs to all of us, and they hold our sick and dying loved ones for ransom every day. I know; I pay.

More Americans died for lack of ability to pay for health care last year, by the way, than were killed by undocumented immigrants, but you don't hear Russ Pearce or the Arizona Republican Party naming our dead as they push bills to "protect" us through the legislature - or championing our right to life.

Instead, they hoard resources stolen from the public in private tax shelters, cut more children, elderly and disabled people off of health care and social services, brutalize the teachers for protesting them, and criminalize anyone who disagrees with them. In my book, that makes the Arizona GOP both fascist and anti-American - and far more of a threat to the ordinary Arizona resident's survival than the drug cartels.

Anyway, as Lemons points out, SB1070 would have done nothing to prevent the incident with this deputy, nor would it have prevented the murder of the rancher a few weeks ago. Repealing it can prevent a considerable amount of violence being done to Arizona's Latino community, where even long-standing citizens are learning that it's never safe to call the cops.

Never mind that violence rates along the border have in fact remained flat for the past ten years. Every Latino-looking male in this state, today, is a suspect in this deputy's shooting, of course, and is presumed, as usual, to be in the US illegally. The Minutemen and militia extremists, (what a bunch of nuts. Just for the record, I saw no "feral foreign invaders rioting" at the capitol this week) and nativists like Shawna Forde (who murdered a Latino family several months ago) are going to pick up on this incident with delight and use it as an excuse to perpetrate more violence against the rest of us, be it with their laws or their guns, or both.

Arizona Militia units are on "Ribbon Status" now, by the way, and they've called for citizens to go out and buy five boxes of ammunition to celebrate "Cinco de Ammo" on the 5th of May. Those guys are scarier than the cops. Some might even BE cops. What could they possibly be planning to do with their guns and ammo? Are they going to shoot us all in the streets for resisting their right-wing rule?

Fuck them. They are deeply disturbed. Those people do not stand for America; they only stand for themselves. In any event, I'm with the guy who says "I'm Mexican. Pull me over", and am still going undocumented. We have to stop these people here.

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Pinal County Sheriff's Deputy Shot By Suspected Drug Runners/Illegal Immigrants

By Stephen Lemons, Friday, Apr. 30 2010 @ 6:57PM

A Pinal County Sheriff's Deputy was shot and wounded today by suspected drug runners smuggling an unknown quantity of marijuana through the desert.

The Pinal County Sheriff's Office identified the injured Deputy as Louie Puroll, 53, a fifteen year veteran of the department. PCSO spokeswoman Lt. Tamatha Villar said that Puroll was doing well, and had been transported to Casa Grande Regional Medical Center for treatment.

She described his injury as a "grazing wound" on the left side of his body above the kidney. Puroll identified the weapon as a high-powered assault rifle, possibly an AK-47.

Puroll was on patrol in the desert when he came across "five Hispanic males, possibly undocumented" transporting a load of marijuana.

He also saw two long gun rifles on them, according to Villar. They fired on Puroll. Puroll returned fire, but is not sure if he hit the suspects.

A manhunt is underway, with Pinal County being joined by the Border Patrol, MCSO, Arizona DPS, the Casa Grande Police Department, and other agencies. Villar said there was no vehicle involved. The men were on foot.

Fortunately, Puroll was not killed or injured more seriously than he was, but you can bet that this incident will become a battle cry in the ongoing debate over SB 1070, Arizona's new immigration law.

That law would have done nothing to prevent an incident like the one today. Nor would it have saved the life of southern Arizona rancher Rob Krentz, who was murdered, many believe, by drug or human smugglers.

But that won't matter for the debate, as we soon shall see.