Texas Sheriff: Illegal Immigrant Attacks Deputy, Deputy Opens Fire

Reported by: Erica Proffer
Last Update: 6:26 pm

CHANNEL 5 NEWS (KRGV, 2010) HIDALGO COUNTY - Authorities say a man who hates law enforcement tried to stab a Hidalgo County deputy. The deputy shot the suspect in his leg.

"To me he was laying in wait. We find him. We coax him out. Then, he attempts with some object and lunge at the deputies. From a preliminary standpoint it appears the shooting was justified," said Sheriff Lupe Trevino, Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office.

Not everyone agrees.

"I think they over did it, they over did it," said Alice De La Rosa,

The suspect is believed to be in the country illegally. This isn't his first run-in with law enforcement. Sheriff's deputies say he was arrested twice before.

His illegal immigrant status was never flagged. Authorities think it's because he was picked up for D.W.I.

"He fell through the cracks because we didn't have the system back then," said Trevino.

The system is called "Secure Communities." It registers every person's fingerprints when they're booked for a crime. Those fingerprints go directly to the feds.

Thousands were caught to be in Hidalgo County illegally when the system launched in 2009.

The suspect's name in this case can't be released. He hasn't been formally charged, yet.

The Department of Homeland Security knows about this crime. They placed an immigration hold on the suspect.

http://www.krgv.com/news/local/story/Sh ... -5BRw.cspx