Thread: Prosecutor gets hate mail about border agent’s case

Prosecutor gets hate mail about border agent’s case; it includes insults, vague threats

By Jonathan Clark
Herald/Review

Published on Friday, May 04, 2007

BISBEE ��” Cochise County Attorney Ed Rheinheimer’s decision to charge a Naco-based Border Patrol agent last month with the murder of an illegal Mexican border-crosser has brought him a stream of hate mail from across the country, with some letters accusing him of treason or wishing him physical harm.

Of the 24 e-mails and letters released to the Herald/Review in response to a public records request, 21 are critical of the charges against Agent Nicholas Corbett.�

Correspondents suggest, among other complaints, that the Mexican Consulate is playing a major role in the case, that Rheinheimer has a political agenda, and that Corbett, 39, had a right to shoot 22-year-old Francisco Javier Dominguez-Rivera because Dominguez-Rivera had crossed the border illegally.

“Your actions against Nicholas Corbett are nothing but treasonous,” reads one unsigned e-mail. “When the truth finally comes out ��- you will pay and pay dearly.”

“Border Patrol agents are SUPPOSED to shoot illegal aliens who disobey orders,” writes a man from Atlanta. “Sir, you make me SICK. I hope that you are killed by an illegal alien drunk driver. That would be rich!”

In an unsigned e-mail with a subject line of “sleazy prosecutor,” the writer calls Rheinheimer a redneck and accuses him of pursuing a political agenda dictated by President George W. Bush and presidential adviser Karl Rove.

“There is no place in America for sleaze bags like you. You disgrace this country, our flag and our culture,” the writer states, before expressing the wish that Rheinheimer or one of his family members will be violently assaulted by an illegal immigrant.

“My hope is that you burn in hell,” the writer concludes, “and the sooner the better.”

Not all of the letters contain insults or hyperbole. One man e-mailed to say he was “dismayed” at the charges and suggested that representatives from the Mexican Consulate had been allowed to coach eyewitnesses on their stories ��” an accusation put forward by the Border Patrol agents’ union but denied by investigators and consular officials.

A man who identifies himself as a law enforcement officer says he was disappointed and saddened by the charges.

“If you have not ever been a law enforcement officer that has been threatened with the fear of losing your life or serious harm, you will never understand what that feels like,” writes the man.

Evidence and non-related cases

In announcing the charges against Corbett on April 23, Rheinheimer stated that physical evidence in the case had failed to show that Corbett shot Dominguez-Rivera in self-defense.

Rheinheimer said the evidence, which includes an autopsy report, ballistics tests, and a surveillance video, better supports the eyewitness account given by three of the victim’s family members, who said that Corbett shot an unarmed Dominguez-Rivera after rushing up to him from behind and pushing him to his knees.

The evidence in the case is not discussed in any of the letters backing Corbett. The writers seem to support a general right of agents to shoot as they see fit.

“This patriotic Border Patrol agent should get a medal,” writes one man who attaches the title M.D. after his name, while another anonymous writer opines that, “if anything, the agent should be rewarded for stopping at least one more tax-money-wasting illegal. It’s too bad all border agents aren’t allowed to shoot to kill.”

“If you don’t start allowing the Border Patrol to do its job without having to worry about getting prosecuted every time they have to shoot their guns and end up killing or wounding an illegal alien, then the American people are going to have to take control of the situation,” says a writer from Texas.

A number of correspondents draw comparisons between the Corbett case and that of two Border Patrol agents in Texas who were found guilty in March 2006 of multiple offenses, including assault with a dangerous weapon, discharge of a firearm in commission of a crime, and tampering with a crime scene after they shot an unarmed drug smuggler in the buttocks.

“Here we go again! Another brave, hard working Border Patrol agent is doing his job and defending his life but ends up getting charged for murder because of crooked attorneys and the Mexican consul,” states an anonymous writer.

Several letter writers seem to have been misled by a video link contained within a blurb about the Corbett case posted on the Tucson Sector Border Patrol agent’s union Web site. The video, recorded by a Border Patrol surveillance camera, clearly shows an agent shooting a man at close range as the man winds up to throw something.

However, the video is not of the Corbett shooting, which happened Jan. 12 between Douglas and Naco, but of a March 26 shooting near Calexico, Calif.

“You can see clearly by the video that the individual was about to throw a rock at the border agent, so, he had every right to defend his life,” reads one unsigned e-mail.

“I saw the video with the illegal alien with THE DAMN ROCK IN HIS HAND,” wrote another man, who signed his name with the title of “reverend.”

The grainy video of the Corbett shooting lacks the clarity to show the actual shooting or to determine if Dominguez-Rivera was holding a rock. Instead, it shows Corbett circle his SUV around Dominguez-Rivera’s group before stopping and dashing around the back of the truck. He reaches the group within seconds and a body appears to lurch forward onto the ground.

Not all are critical

Three of the e-mails Rheinheimer received regarding the charges express either support or a wait-and-see attitude.

“You have a quandary,” wrote a man from Prescott Valley. “The evidence doesn’t match Corbett’s version of what happened. My question (is), will you do the right thing? Charge this out-of-control Border Patrol agent? He needs to be put away before he kills again.”

An attorney in North Carolina wrote to praise Rheinheimer for his “political courage” in bringing the charges.

“Of course, I don’t know if he’s guilty,” the attorney added, “but I am glad this will be decided by a court.”

Corbett, who is charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, manslaughter and negligent homicide, made his initial court appearance on April 27 at Justice Court 2 in Douglas.

Judge Alma Vildosola will hold a preliminary hearing on May 17 to determine if Corbett can be tried on any of the charges.

http://www.svherald.com/articles/2007/0 ... 426286.txt

I too have seen this video and it does appear that the illegal alien had something in his hand attemting to throw at the agent.

I feel strongly that our BP agents have been put in some really bad circumstances, similar to what had gone on in Vietnam for our soldiers. There were a lot of guerilla fighters and the tactics they used were outright dirty, leaving our soldiers with tough decisions to make about how to react and to what situation.

Since BP agents are finding themselves in more and more dangerous situations with little help and few resources to handle the increased border violence, it becomes more understandable how they feel more threatened than ever before, and why a shooting like the one in the video, occured.

County Attorney receives threats
Lorraine Rivera reports
May 14, 2007 07:21 AM PDT

Calling for his death and resignation. The Cochise County attorney facing severe backlash after deciding to prosecute a Naco Border Patrol agent for murder.

Cochise County attorney Ed Rheinheimer facing threatening consequences for holding a local Border Patrol agent responsible for murder.

The case goes back to January 12, when 22 year old Francisco Dominguez Rivera, an illegal immigrant, was shot and killed in the desert west of Douglas. Nicholas Corbett, a Naco Border Patrol agent, says he shot Rivera in self-defense.

But Ed Rheinheimer says evidence shows Corbett's deadly move was not justified and charged him with murder. It's a decision Rheinheimer says he stands by. But his commitment is coming with criticism.

There's almost fifty pages of documented threats and showings of support for Cochise County attorney Ed Rheinheimer as a result of this case. Ed didn't want to go on camera but he tells News 4 this is the first time in 28 years of practicing law a case has brought in this kind of attention.

A public records request and News 4 obtained the letters, emails, blogs, even phone messages. They read,"You should be tried for treason" another states, "We need to start supporting our Border Patrol instead of prosecuting them." The hate mail is coming from all over country.

An unsigned letter from Atlanta, Georgia reads "I hope that you are killed by an illegal alien drunk driver...that would be rich!"

Cochise County attorney Ed Rheinheimer says he doesn't feel personally threatened, he just thinks people are venting, getting anger out of their system; though he admits the level of hatred does surprise him. A letter addressed to the "Sleazy Prosecutor" reads, "My hope is that you or a family member is accosted by an immigrant."

A letter from someone claiming to be a National Guardsman on the border says,"The worst thing I fear is not an armed illegal alien approaching me, but prosecutors like you seem to be becoming who side with the enemy and further weaken an already frail border."

But it's not all resentment: a writer in Raleigh, North Carolina says, "Thank you for your political courage and independence in bringing these charges."

A person in Washington, DC says, "Boiled down, a federal badge is simply not a license to violate a state homicide statute."

Rheinheimer said, "The stress comes from when you're trying to make a decision, when you're not sure which way to go, mulling it over trying to make a decision."

"Once you make that decision, you're confident that's when the stress disappears, there is no doubt in my mind this is the way we had to go with this incident." Rheinheimer says after practicing law for nearly thirty years, he's developed a thick skin. Since receiving this hate mail, he's keeping an eye out for his safety.

Meanwhile, Agent Corbett is on administrative leave pending the outcome of his court proceedings, and the case has been reassigned to the Bisbee justice of the peace for next month.

http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=6509409&nav=HMO6HMaW

"The worst thing I fear is not an armed illegal alien approaching me, but prosecutors like you seem to be becoming who side with the enemy and further weaken an already frail border."

"You should be tried for treason" another states, "We need to start supporting our Border Patrol instead of prosecuting them."

These are considered "hate mail"?

But it's not all resentment: a writer in Raleigh, North Carolina says, "Thank you for your political courage and independence in bringing these charges."

Now I just wonder who this could have come from in Raleigh.

had_enuf wrote:

Quote:
"You should be tried for treason" another states, "We need to start supporting our Border Patrol instead of prosecuting them."

These are considered "hate mail"?

Talk about these guys over reacting. Where is the hate in that statement? Give me a break.