Sheriff: Suspect in officer's death was illegal immigrant
Sheriff: Suspect in officer's death was illegal immigrant
by Colin Smith/KTAR (May 10th, 2011 @ 12:48pm)
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PHOENIX -- The suspect in the shooting death of a Buckeye police officer was an illegal immigrant who should have been deported years ago, authorities said Tuesday.
The suspect, Cesar Leon, 27, was killed in the same gun battle that left Officer Rolando Tirado dead and Officer Christopher Paz wounded outside a Phoenix swap meet-party place on May 1. The officers were off-duty, but in uniform and working security at El Gran Mercado.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Leon was in the United States on a visitors' visa and was a convicted felon who should have been deported when he was released from a Los Angeles County jail.
"Many officers have been killed by illegal immigrants," Arpaio said. "Start checking the record. If they weren't here, these incidents wouldn't be occurring."
The sheriff added that Leon was a known gang member with an extensive record.
The executive director of the Arizona Police Association, Brian Livingston, said Leon was a known gang member in the Los Angeles area and asked why he was not deported when he was released earlier this year from a California state prison where he served time for violating terms of his green card.
"We have to know and nobody in California is speaking up and advising us why it wasn't done the first time," Livingston said.
"It was more than a mistake. This person should have been deported back in 2005 when his criminal activity originally started."
Livingston said the attack on the officers may have been premeditated. He said the manner in which Tirado was shot was similar to the way members of Leon's gang were trained to kill.
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