Thread: Man suspected of firing at AZ. deputies in custody

Man suspected of firing at deputies in custody

Arizona Daily Star
August 21, 2010 6:40 pm

A man suspected of firing a gun at Pinal County sheriff’s deputies last week was in custody Saturday, authorities said.

Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Sandoval, 38, is facing two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer and one count of aggravated assault, a Pinal County Sheriff’s Department news release said.

An acquaintance brought Gonzalez-Sandoval to the Eloy Police Department, where Pinal County deputies were expected to take him into custody.

Gonzalez-Sandoval is accused of firing his gun at deputies on Monday after they were called to a home for a domestic dispute in Arizona City.

The suspect and another man was trying to get into a home where his wife lived.

He fled the area before deputies arrived and fired his handgun at the officers when they encountered him. The deputies returned fire.

Gonzalez-Sandoval fled the scene on foot after the shootout.

His charges could be elevated to attempted murder upon review by the Pinal County Attorney’s office.

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/a ... 03286.html

Pinal Co. deputies involved in shootout with criminal alien
Post here has Sandoval's Criminal Rap Sheet
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-209671.html

Pinal shooting suspect was subject of deportation hearing
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-209713.html

Why did Federal Immigration Judge Bruce Taylor let this person go in March 2010?
Why would a reported be thrown off the property for asking questions?

Is the Department of Justice doing its job of protecting the legal citizens of this country or setting policies that endanger our lives and sovereignty for political gain?

Why was dangerous criminal not deported?
Posted: Aug 19, 2010 11:53 PM CDT
Updated: Aug 21, 2010 7:00 AM CDT




Immigration judge Bruce Taylor


Immigration court in Florence

An immigration court employee invites KGUN9's Joel Waldman to get off the property

videos at site.


ARIZONA CITY, Ariz. (KGUN9-TV) - The political debate over immigration reform and border security has featured plenty of finger pointing and accusations that the federal government isn't doing enough to enforce the law and rid the country of people who are here illegally -- especially those who are dangerous, such as convicted criminals.

In the case of fugitive Jose Gonzalez-Sandoval, the feds tried. ICE attempted to revoke Gonzalez-Sandoval's legal status and have him deported in March, in light of the man's long rap sheet. Federal immigration judge Bruce Taylor of Florence said "no." Gonzalez-Sandoval remained.

Now he's a hunted fugitive. According to the Pinal County Sheriff's department, on Monday night Gonzalez-Sandoval pulled a pistol on deputies who were trying to arrest him outside a house in Arizona City, and began to pull the trigger. The deputies opened fire but Gonzalez-Sandoval got away. The deputies had responded to a report that Gonzalez-Sandoval, who has a history of domestic violence, was trying to break in to a home where his children were staying. According to deputies, Gonzalez-Sandoval's wife has a restraining order against him.

Now outspoken Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu has harsh words for Judge Taylor. "Judge Taylor has some answering to do. One of my deputies could've been killed by this convicted criminal," Babeu said.

One of Gonzalez-Sandoval's children agrees with that assessment. "He's dangerous for everyone," she told KGUN9's Joel Waldman.

That intense manhunt continues. But, now, so does the search for answers. 9 On Your Side wants to know: Why did Judge Taylor ever let Gonzalez-Sandoval go in the first place?

KGUN9 News has not been able to get into contact with Taylor to ask that question. On Thursday Waldman went to the immigration court in Florence, hoping to catch up with Taylor. An employee ordered Waldman off the property.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials typically choose their words carefully when discussing specific cases, and this one is no exception. However, ICE spokesperson Vincent Picard did acknowledge that ICE tried to deport Gonzalez-Sandoval, releasing a statement that read in part, "... following convictions for multiple violent crimes, ICE sought to revoke his residency status."

Those crimes include at least three DUI's, domestic violence charges and assaults on law enforcement. Judge Taylor turned ICE down despite that list. According to the Pinal County Sheriff's Department, despite having been at the center of 15 different criminal court cases, Gonzalez-Sandoval's status remains "Legal Permanent Resident Alien."

After the immigration court employee ordered Waldman off the property, Waldman attempted to contact the Executive Office for Immigration Review in Falls Church, Virginia, the agency that swore Judge Taylor onto the bench back in 2006. Multiple calls were not returned.

Why would an immigration judge turn down a deportation request -- especially one involving a man connected to so many criminal cases? Since Judge Taylor isn't talking, there is no way to know for sure. But one expert, former judge and current immigration attorney Bret Huggins, told Waldman that judges can only rely on the evidence before them. "If the evidence isn't presented they are not allowed to do what they want to do. And, they must follow that law. But, then, they're handicapped because they can't explain it to the media when we want the answer when something terrible has happened." Huggins was not famliar with the specific details of this particular case, however.

Gonzalez-Sandoval's fate was far different from that of Noe Nubes-Nidez, a case KGUN9 News documented earlier this year. A special ICE unit that targets criminal aliens caught up with Nubes-Nidez in late May. Within hours, they had deported him to Nogales, Sonora. It turned out that Noe Nubes-Nidez had lost his legal status because of a single drug conviction that had happened more than a decade earlier. The deportation separated Noe Nubes-Nidez from his girlfriend and infant daughter.

With Gonzalez-Sandoval still on the loose, and presumably armed and very dangerous, Pinal deputies are now among those worried that the worst is not over and that this could end badly.

Deputies describe Gonzalez-Sandoval as an Hispanic male, 5'7" tall, 140 pounds, last seen wearing a checkered button up shirt, jeans and a white baseball hat. They're also looking for his car, described as a 2003 blue or teal Mustang with 18 to 20-inch chrome rims. The back right tire on the car is a spare. The Mustang has Arizona plates, with the number LMO-6651.

Anyone with any information is asked to call 911.



http://www.kgun9.com/Global/story.asp?S=13016356

One of Gonzalez-Sandoval's children agrees with that assessment. "He's dangerous for everyone," she told KGUN9's Joel Waldman.

Even his own kid says this guy is a danger to everyone. I'm happy to see that KGUN9 is bringing this story and issue out into the light by publically asking questions as to how this could happen.

One has to wonder how many other convicted felons that should have been deported were released back onto the streets by Judge Bruce Taylor!