Crime Time

Officials give update on shooting from Texas DPS chopper

The trooper who, while aboard a Department of Public Safety helicopter fired at a fleeing truck in Hidalgo County to disable it, has returned to work, the DPS reported Thursday.

Nine Guatemalan immigrants were hidden under a tarp in the pickup's bed. Three were wounded, two fatally.

Texas Rangers are investigating, although civil rights groups have called for an agency not associated with the DPS to do that. The Rangers are part of DPS.

Click here to read the agency's update on the investigation.

Outrage festers over shooting from Texas DPS chopper

A civil rights group is demanding an independent investigation of the fatal shooting of two suspected illegal immigrants by a Texas state trooper from a helicopter.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas made its demand in a letter to Director Steve McCraw of the Texas Department of Public Safety, according to The Associated Press.

Copies of the letter were released Thursday. It says, "If the facts as reported are true, this use of deadly force was illegal and unconstitutional."

A trooper aboard a DPS helicopter fired at a fleeing truck in an effort to disable it on Oct. 25. Nine Guatemalan immigrants were hidden under a tarp in the pickup's bed. Three were wounded, two fatally.

The letter demands an investigation by "an agency that is not under the umbrella of the Texas DPS."

Follow this link to an AP article with some more background.

Agents find pot, guns while looking for illegal alien in Fort Worth

Federal authorities have arrested four men in Fort Worth on suspicion of conspiracy to distribute marijuana after finding 36.5 kilograms in a storage shed.

Agents got the marijuana when they first went to Javier Ruiz-Guzman's house Oct. 24 to serve an arrest warrant.

He was being targeted for administrative arrest and deportation for being a criminal alien illegally in the United States, officials said.

Agents recovered a handgun and a rifle from the home.

The suspect, however, cooperated with agents and showed them a large cache of marijuana. Arrests of three other men followed.

Read how in this Bill Hanna report.

 

'Show me your papers' law to begin in Arizona

A judge in Arizona ruled Tuesday that police can immediately start enforcing the most contentious section of the state's immigration law, marking the first time officers can carry out the so-called "show me your papers" provision.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton is the latest milestone in a two-year legal battle over the requirement. It culminated in a U.S. Supreme Court decision in June that upheld the provision on the grounds that it doesn't conflict with federal law.

Now, with the requirement finally in full effect, both sides are anxious to see the outcome.
The supporters want local police to use it vigorously, but worry federal immigration officials won't respond to calls to come arrest people.

"I am mulling what I will do if they don't respond," said Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who more than any other police boss in the state pushed the bounds of immigration enforcement. "I don't feel comfortable letting the illegal alien back on the street."

Read more in this report.

-- The Associated Press.

 

DOJ claims N.C. sheriff targeted Latinos

A two-year investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice has found that a North Carolina sheriff and his deputies routinely discriminated against Latinos by making unwarranted arrests with the intent of maximizing deportations.

In an 11-page report issued Tuesday, the federal agency said Alamance County Sheriff Terry S. Johnson (shown here at left) and his deputies violated the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens and legal residents by illegally targeting, stopping, detaining and arresting Latinos without probable cause, according to a report by The Associated Press.

A Republican first elected in 2002, Johnson suggested the probe was a political.

"We have never discriminated against Spanish speaking persons in any way, shape or form," the sheriff said Tuesday. "The Obama administration has decided to continue to wage war on local law enforcement."

Read what the AP report to see what the sheriff is accused of doing.

-- The Associated Press.

 

Feds: Border Patrol agent was harboring undocumented immigrants in hidden room

A San Diego-area Border Patrol agent has been arrested after federal agents said they discovered a hidden room at his home in which illegal immigrants were being harbored -- including the Border Patrol agent's father, NBC San Diego reported on its website.

The Border Patrol agent, Marcos Gerardo Manzano Jr., 26, is facing charges of the harboring illegal immigrants.

The discovery was made at about 6 a.m. Tuesday, when a SWAT team raided Manzano's home and found an undocumented man hidden in the room. They also found evidence of drug dealing, the station reported.

The accused agent's 46-year-old father, Marcos Gerardo Manzano Sr., is being sought on immigration violation charges, the station reported.

-- Lance Murray

'The Hulk' joins Arizona sheriff's anti-immigration posse

Imagine crossing the U.S. border illegally in Arizona and running into the Hulk.

That could happen now that actor Lou Ferrigno, who played the giant green Hulk character on television, has joined a nearly 3,000 member volunteer posse formed by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, that is tasked with assisting deputies crack down on illegal immigration.

Ferrigno's not the only famous member of the posse. Action star Steven Seagal and "Mission: Impossible" actor Peter Lupus, who is in his 70s, also are members, the Associated Press reported.

-- Lance Murray

Report: Texas teen girl slain in Mexico was a stripper who wanted to be 'coyote'

An 18-year-old Sugar Land, Texas, area high school senior who was found beaten to death in Mexico over the weekend worked as a stripper and wanted to be a "coyote," a smuggler of illegal immigrants into the United States, the Houston Chronicle reported, citing her mother's statements to police.

Elisabeth Mandala was a senior at Kempner High School in the Fort Bend school district, the Chronicle reported.

Her body was found Saturday along with those of two men on a highway just west of Mina, a town of about 6,000 people near Monterrey, the Chronicle reported.

Newspapers in Monterrey reported that their pickup was staged to look like it had been in an accident, but there was evidence that a rock had been jammed in the accelerator, the Chronicle reported.

“It's pretty apparent she was doing stuff down there she shouldn't have been,” an unnamed law enforcement source close to the investigation told the Chronicle.

-- Lance Murray

Report: Man arrested trying to smuggle wife inside speaker box

A Fort Worth man has been taken into custody at the Brownsville port of entry after a Customs and Border Protection officer discovered his wife hidden inside a speaker box in the couple's SUV, the Associated Press is reporting.

Authorities say that Sean Protho, 36, was arrested and awaits a court appearance on immigrant smuggling charges. His wife is a Mexican citizen and officials said she does not have immigrant papers necessary to legally enter the United States.

According to the Associated Press, she was found crouching inside the speaker box behind a back seat of their Honda Odyssey on Sunday. When the SUV was stopped at the Brownsville and Matamoros International Bridge the speakers were wired and working, the Associated Press reported.

-- Lance Murray

Ex-NFL star tackles illegal immigration as a Border Patrol agent

Jamaal Green played defensive end for three NFL teams. His job was to stop the opposing offense from moving down the field.

Now he's a Border Patrol agent in El Paso, Texas, and his job is to help stop the movement of illegal immigrants into the United States.

The El Paso Times has an interesting feature on how the former NFL star is living his real dream -- to become a law enforcement officer.

-- Lance Murray