Thread: AZ: Two dead in shooting blamed on border bandits

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/38751.php

Published: 01.15.2007
Two dead in shooting blamed on border bandits
DAVID L. TEIBEL and RYN GARGULINSKI
Tucson Citizen
Six men smuggling drugs over the Mexican border were all accounted for by late Monday afternoon, but not all of them were alive, Santa Cruz County Sheriff Antonio Estrada said.
The bodies of two were found by the U.S. Border Patrol near the border, he said.
One of the men was killed by by a gunshot wound, the other the result of head trauma, Estrada said.
"He (the head trauma victim) could have been running and fell down the ravine and struck his head," Estrada said, "possibly trying to escape his assailants."
Estrada said three persons clad in camouflage and toting assault rifles accosted the six men, vying for their backpacks full of marijuana.
Deputies heard about the incident began shortly before 10 a.m. today when a woman in the Alison Springs area, just south of Tubac and about 20 miles north of the Mexican border, called to say four men showed up on her doorstep seeking help.
After admitting to backpacking pot into Arizona and being attacked by the border bandits, two of the men were airlifted to a Tucson hospital with gunshot wounds and the other two were taken into Border Patrol custody, Estrada said.
That left two missing in the desert and a search by deputies, members of the Santa Cruz County Metro Task Force, a multiagency anti-drug and anti-gang task force, and U.S. Border Patrol agents.
No names have been released and the two uninjured men in custody will remain pending an investigation, said border patrol agent Jesus Rodriguez.
In the past month, Estrada said the rugged area leading from the border to Tubac increasingly has been the scene of shootings, robberies and the smuggling of drugs and people.
"It's getting to be more and more dangerous," Estrada said.

Sad that we can't enforce our border and laws,,,This what happens when you allow the third world into your home.

Published: 01.15.2007

At least 2 admitted drug smugglers shot in robbery attempt
By Dale Quinn
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Two illegal immigrants were shot Monday morning south of Tubac by a group of robbers reportedly trying to steal a load of marijuana, Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada said.

Just before 10 a.m., deputies received a 911 call from a woman in the Aliso Springs area, south of Tubac about 20 miles from the border, after four men came to her door asking for help, Estrada said. Two of the men had been shot — one in the back and one in the forearm — Estrada said.

Deputies learned two more men might still be in the rugged terrain near Aliso Springs.

The four men — all illegal entrants — admitted to backpacking marijuana from Mexico into the United States when they were confronted by robbers, Estrada said.

"They were not optimistic" about the condition of the two men they left behind in the desert, Estrada said.

He didn't know how many men were involved in the confrontation but said the area outside of Aliso Springs is frequently used for drug trafficking and people smuggling.

The shooting victims were taken to a Tucson hospital and authorities notified the Mexican Consulate. The other two men will be detained by the Border Patrol as witnesses or possible suspects in connection with the shooting.

Sheriff's deputies, members of the Santa Cruz County Metro Task Force and Border Patrol Agents are searching for the other two men, Estrada said.
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/printDS/164690

WOW WEE and holy moly

i can only hope that this isnt americans who have decided to take the illegal immigration fight into their own hands. but depending on how far off the border this was, it does make me wonder what happend and whats going on down there in that lawless area

I would not blame the americans down in that area.

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/border/165093

2 held as pot runners after attack; 2 more hospitalized, 2 found dead
By Dale Quinn
arizona daily star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 01.18.2007

Two men were arrested on drug-smuggling charges Tuesday after they were attacked by armed men and dropped a load of marijuana in rugged terrain south of Tubac, an official said.

An investigation revealed that nine men were backpacking 300 pounds of marijuana when three men in camouflage carrying assault rifles confronted them about 20 miles from the border, said Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada.

The men dropped the drugs and fled as the assailants opened fire, Estrada said. Four of the men — two with gunshot wounds — made it to a residence in Aliso Spring and a woman inside the house called 911. The wounded men were taken to a Tucson hospital, and two others were detained.

Julio Cesar Silva-Cortez, 25, and Juan Diego Gutierrez-Duarte, 26, were turned over to the Sheriff's Department on Tuesday and arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to transport marijuana, Estrada said.

The men told investigators they were from Imuris, Sonora, smuggling marijuana into the U.S. when they were attacked and had left two behind. Border Patrol agents later found two bodies in the desert. One died from a gunshot wound and the other had fallen down a ravine. The cause of his death has not been determined, Estrada said.

The names of those in the hospital were being withheld, Estrada said, and the identities of the deceased were being withheld until relatives were notified.

Three of the smugglers returned to Mexico, and neither the assailants nor the marijuana has been found, Estrada said.
● Contact Dale Quinn at 629-9412 or dquinn@azstarnet.com.

What this sounds like to me is a basic robbery done by some very violent people, high quality pot is going for $400.00 an ounce so there was a lot of money out there. This kind of stuff happens all the time but they usually don't shoot anybody so this could be a case where they were stepping into somebodys territory as well.