59 illegal immigrants found after shooting, assaults

Elias C. Arnold
The Arizona Republic
May. 31, 2007 04:54 PM

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office is investigating several assaults and a shooting in connection with 59 illegal immigrants found Thursday in two Litchfield Park-area houses.

Acting on a tip, deputies found 49 people in a house in the 6000 block of North Florence Avenue, with 10 more in the 12500 block of West Orange Drive, according to the Sheriff's Office. Both houses are in an unincorporated area northeast of Litchfield Park.

One man had been shot while three others had been beaten, according to the sheriff's office.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio described the two busts as "typical" drop houses. The injuries are evidence that violence along the border in Mexico is moving north, he added.

"Now that we have our deputies trained (in federal immigration enforcement) we're going to concentrate more on these drop houses," Arpaio said.

Arpaio said suspects in the assaults and shooting were included in the arrests. No details were available on the shooting or the assaults.

The federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement-trained deputies arrested all 59 people on suspicion of violating federal immigration laws.

They will likely be turned over to ICE for deportation, Arpaio said.

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