Wednesday, August 26, 2015

AZMEX UPDATE 25-8-15

AZMEX UPDATE 25 AUG 2015  

Note:  could be interesting to learn who nominated and approved this bench.

Court: Second Amendment also covers those in US illegally
Posted: Aug 25, 2015 7:59 PM CEST
Updated: Aug 25, 2015 8:28 PM CEST


 People living in the United States illegally have a constitutional right to bear arms but are still barred from doing so by a separate law, a federal appeals court ruled. (Source: RNN)

By TODD RICHMOND
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - People living in the United States illegally have a constitutional right to bear arms but are still barred from doing so by a separate law, a federal appeals court ruled.

The three-judge panel of the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals issued its ruling Thursday in a case involving Mariano Meza-Rodriguez. His family brought him to the United States from Mexico illegally when he was four or five years old, according to the 7th Circuit ruling. Now an adult, he was arrested in 2013 after a bar fight in Milwaukee. Police found a .22-caliber bullet in his shorts pocket.

Federal law prohibits people in the country illegally from possessing guns or ammunition. Meza-Rodriguez argued that the charges should be dismissed because the law infringes on his Second Amendment right to bear arms. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa rejected that contention on the broad grounds that the Second Amendment doesn't apply to people in the country illegally. Meza-Rodriguez was ultimately convicted of a felony and deported.

The 7th Circuit panel, however, ruled unanimously Thursday that the term "the people" in the Second Amendment's guarantee that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed also applies to those in the country illegally. The ruling, which applies in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, conflicts with opinions from three other federal appellate courts in recent years that found the Second Amendment doesn't apply to people in the country illegally.

"We see no principled way to carve out the Second Amendment and say that the unauthorized (or maybe all noncitizens) are excluded," Chief Judge Diane Wood wrote.

But the panel upheld Meza-Rodriguez's conviction, saying the federal ban on people in the country illegally possessing weapons remains valid. Wood wrote that the right to bear arms isn't unlimited and the government has a strong interest in preventing people who have already broken the law by coming to the country illegally from carrying guns.

Meza-Rodriguez's attorney, Joseph Bugni, said the decision contradicts itself. He plans to ask all nine active 7th Circuit judges to review the case together. If Meza-Rodriguez doesn't prevail at that level he'll go to the U.S. Supreme Court, Bugni said.

Judge Joel M. Flaum, a member of the panel, wrote in a concurring opinion that he doubts the Second Amendment applies to people in the country illegally. He acknowledged that the decision conflicts with other federal rulings and said the panel shouldn't have addressed the broader constitutional question since the possession ban is clearly legal.

end



Note:  and a couple local human interest stories.

Comment:  Average teacher pay in the dist. $44,590, up to $61,230. plus bennies and couple months off. 
So somewhat understandable the need for a summer job, after all, who could possible live on that little pay?  Check also heroin overdoses in your community.  
Thx 

Valley school teacher accused of trafficking cocaine, heroin 
Posted: Aug 25, 2015 12:57 AM CEST
Updated: Aug 25, 2015 7:13 AM CEST
By News Staff
 
Rafael Luna, 56, of Glendale Arizona (Source: Canadian County Sheriff's Office)
Jose A. Lopez, 50, (Source: Canadian County Sheriff's Office)
Cocaine and heroin seized after traffic stop (Source: Canadian County Sheriff's Office)
Drug cetector K9 "Pickles" with cocaine and heroin seized after traffic stop 
(Source: Canadian County Sheriff's Office)
Merceds Benz seized after traffic stop (Source: Canadian County Sheriff's Office)

EL RENO, OKLAHOMA (KPHO/KTVK) - A Valley school teacher was arrested on Saturday in Oklahoma after 15 pounds of cocaine and 1.2 pounds of black-tar heroin was found in the trunk of the 2000 Mercedes Benz he was driving, according to Chris West with the Canadian County Sheriff's Office.

Rafael Luna, 56, of Glendale, is a teacher at Valley Vista High School in the Dysart School District. 

Luna was stopped while going eastbound on Interstate 40 by a deputy with the Canadian County Sheriff's Office after he observed Luna driving erratically just west of El Reno. Rafael, and his passenger, Jose A. Lopez, 50, of Phoenix told deputies they were headed to Fort Leonardwood, Missouri to watch Luna's son graduate from U.S. Army basic training.

Inconsistencies in Luna and Lopez's stories caused deputies to suspect the two may be involved in criminal activity, and a drug detector K9 named "Pickles" was brought to the scene to conduct a free air sniff around the vehicle.

Pickles, who has been credited with finding over 110 pounds of cocaine this year, made a positive alert to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle. After Pickles alerted on the trunk area of the Mercedes, deputies located a stash of cocaine and heroin under the spare tire, and immediately took both men into custody.

After Luna's arrest, deputies learned hauling drugs for extra money was Luna's summer job, and he even admitted that this wasn't the first trip he'd made.

"How pathetic is it that a public school teacher is hauling illegal narcotics that will undoubtedly end up impacting the lives of children. "This man should be locked up for life," said Randall Edwards, Canadian County Sheriff.

Luna's passenger, Lopez, who works as a mechanic, told investigators he'd been recruited by an unknown person about hauling drugs across country, and he had recruited Luna.

The cocaine was packaged in carbon paper and wrapped in multiple layers of cellophane, and the heroin was contained in a plastic sack, and then wrapped in disposable diapers; both the cocaine and heroin was inside a nylon bag which was found under the spare tire in the trunk.

Along with the drugs, deputies seized the Mercedes Benz the two were traveling in, and $1,290.00. Luna and Lopez were transported to the Canadian County Jail and booked for trafficking in cocaine and trafficking in heroin. Bonds for Luna and Lopez were set at $205,000 each, and they remain in custody.

"I'm certain the drugs with a street value in excess of $1 million originated in Mexico, and were intended for sale on the streets of New York City," said Sheriff Edwards.

STATEMENT FROM DYSART UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT:

"We are aware of the story out of Oklahoma and are troubled by the accusations. The high school teacher in question is on administrative leave pending further legal actions. The District will investigate and will take appropriate actions available to maintain a safe and constructive learning environment."

Zachery Fountain
Communications and Public Relations Director
Dysart Unified School District





Suspected impaired driver injures 5 in Pinal County crash
Posted: Aug 25, 2015 4:48 PM CEST
Updated: Aug 25, 2015 4:49 PM CEST
By Phil Benson 

Booking photo of Julio Cesar Lavarga-Carranza on Aug. 23, 2015. (Source: Pinal County Sheriff's Office)
FLORENCE, AZ (KPHO/KTVK) -

An undocumented immigrant is accused of driving while impaired in a crash that injured five people Sunday evening. 

The Pinal County sheriff's 911 dispatchers got multiple calls about two vehicles that had crashed into a wall on Hunt Highway west of Paso Fino Way. 

Witnesses said the suspect, Julio Cesar Lavarga-Carranza, 22, was driving erratically and attempted to pass another car illegally on the right. Sheriff's deputies said Lavarga-Carranza lost control and struck the vehicle carrying five family members. Both vehicles then plowed into the wall of a nearby home. 

After the collision, Lavarga-Carranza fled on foot but was soon found in a field north of Hunt Highway, where he was arrested. 

Deputies said two adults and three children under the age of 6 suffered minor injuries. 

Lavarga-Carranza was booked into the Pinal County Adult Detention Center. Other charges he faces include aggravated assault, hit-and-run and criminal damage.
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Thursday, August 20, 2015

AZMEX SPECIAL 21-8-15

AZMEX SPECIAL  21 AUG 2015

Note:  SLRC (Yuma) 70, Nogales 33, Rocky Point 16 & AP 13. 

SONORA RECORDS 589 TUBERCULOSIS CASES 
HEALTH OF POPULATION AT RISK BY INCREASE OF THE DISEASE
20 / Aug / 2015
Contreras Eréndida Inzunza
Nuevo Dia / Nogales, Sonora

TB disease is a public health problem, as shown by the statistics of patients affected by the infection microbacteriosis, because only in Sonora have detected 589 new cases, where Nogales is in fifth place in number of people diagnosed with 80 percent of males and the rest in females.

In an interview with the manager of microbacteriosis State program covering diseases tuberculosis and leprosy, Cristian Miguel Tapia Torres, said that in Sonora, like all states, tuberculosis has a presence in the community, hence the importance that patients are diagnosed and treated.

Said that of the total cases in the state, most concentrated in the services of the Ministry of Health, with 429 cases, 139 belong to the IMSS, eight patients treated at the ISSSTE and the rest thirteen cases are located in the ISSSTESON and individual units.

He said that they are Hermosillo and Cajeme; cities that for years have topped the statistics in all the State, as the capital of Sonora has 177 patients, Cajeme 104, followed by San Luis Rio Colorado with 70, Guaymas with 46, and fifth Nogales with 33 people diagnosed.

Of this, he said, cities of Navojoa with 30 cases, Caborca ​​26, Penasco 16, Agua Prieta thirteen,  Huatabampo eleven, Empalme ten, Etchojoa eight, so these are the main municipalities that today are handled as priority sites for their tuberculosis problem.

He recalled that people with very marked, determinants are those mostly are affected by the disease, such as in a state of malnutrition, HIV-positive AIDS zero, diabetes, certain immunodeficiencies, people managed for cancer treatments, or those factors risk when other infected and it is not treated.

He recalled that one infected person can spread the disease in a year to ten or fifteen people, so the visit to Nogales to meet those processes deliberate search of detection, patient management, it is precisely in this city there are 33 new cases of lung origin, extrapulmonary six cases, ie, affect other parts of the body, but not directly to the lung and bowel can be treated, lymph, among others.

FINISH
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Wednesday, August 19, 2015

AZMEX UPDATE 20-8-15

AZMEX UPDATE 20 AUG 2015


Note:  of more than passing interest?  Couple things can happen.  
A.  El chapo taking care of unfinished business, and region will stay relatively calm.
B.  Region could erupt into bloody conflict once again as several years ago.
Region being between Nogales and Lukeville.
Locals might want to hope for "A" but prepare for "B" as we don't yet know what part the federal government (Mex) might play.  Spillover always a possibility.  
Mexican media reports included. 
thx


Two subjects riddled with bullets between Tubutama and Saric
Details Published on Wednesday August 19, 2015,
Written by Marco A. Manriquez / El Diario 
Tubutama.

One of them was the brother of a leader that had plagued the area for years
The Monday night violence was reintroduced in the area of ​​Rio Altar, after two male persons were shot dead in the Altar-El Saric road stretch Tubutama-Cerro Prieto, at kilometer 70, which is the junction to the community of La Reforma.

One of them was the brother of a leader that had ravaged the area about 4-5 years ago, who was nicknamed "The Gilo" which allegedly was killed, though his death was never made official.

It is Adrian Del Cid Buelna, 40 years old, originally from the community of Cerro Prieto, municipality of El Saric, and his companion was identified as Andres Armenta Beltrán, 27, a native of Guasave, Sinaloa.

The deceased were traveling aboard an pickup, brand GMC black color, where were found their bullet-riddled bodies, that was pulling a white trailer, which was owned by Del Cid Buelna.

Unofficially it learned that was about 23:00 when the  quiet small-town of La Reforma (as rúa 2 kilometers of where the incident occurred) was heard the detonations of firearms; the anxiety reigned until dawn came and then the police forces, since the residents were afraid to leave their homes, not knowing for sure what had happened and for fear of an attack.

According to the bulletin of the PGJE, the scene several shell casings were recovered for long weapons of two different calibres, while inside the vehicle a pistol .45, 3 mags for 'goat horn' was found and 1 for agun .223 (AR-15).   Addition of another charger 5.7 x 28 mm ('cop killer'), and 120 rounds of ammunition of the above calibers.

The scene was attended by the AMPFC, who ordered the lifting and transporting the bodies to carry out procedures of law; and securing of the firearm, chargers, rounds of ammunition, shell casings and vehicle found at the crime scene.

Elements of PEI, coordinated by the AMPFC, are investigating to find those responsible for the death of Adrian Del Cid and Andres Armenta.

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Acribillan a dos sujetos Entre Tubutama y Sáric
Detalles Publicado el Miercoles 19 de Agosto de 2015, 
Escrito por Marco A. Manríquez / El Diario
Tubutama.

Uno de ellos era hermano de un cabecilla que tenía asolada esa área hace años
La noche del pasado lunes la violencia volvió a presentarse en la zona del Río Altar, luego de que dos personas de sexo masculino fueron asesinadas a balazos en la carretera Altar-El Sáric, tramo Tubutama-Cerro Prieto, a la altura del kilómetro 70, que es el entronque a la comunidad de La Reforma.

Uno de ellos era hermano de un cabecilla que tenía asolada esa área hace apenas unos 4 a 5 años, a quien apodaban "El Gilo" y que supuestamente fue asesinado, aunque nunca se oficializó su muerte.
Se trata de Adrián Del Cid Buelna, de 40 años de edad, originario de la comunidad de Cerro Prieto, municipio de El Sáric, y su acompañante fue identificado como  Andrés Armenta Beltrán, de 27, nativo de Guasave, Sinaloa.

Los occisos viajaban a bordo de un vehículo tipo pickup, cabina y media, de la marca GMC color negro, donde fueron encontrados sus cuerpos acribillados, mismo que estaba jalando un remolque de color blanco para ganado, el cual era propiedad de Del Cid Buelna.

De forma extraoficial se supo que eran alrededor de las 23:00 horas cuando la tranquilidad pueblerina de La Reforma (como a 2 kilómetros de la rúa donde se registró el incidente) se vio interrumpida con las detonaciones de armas de fuego; la zozobra reinó hasta que amaneció y llegaron las fuerzas policiacas, toda vez que sus pobladores no se atrevían a salir de sus casas, al no saber con certeza qué había ocurrido y por miedo a sufrir algún ataque.

Según el boletín de la PGJE, en el lugar de los hechos se aseguró varios casquillos percutidos para arma larga de dos calibres diferentes, mientras que en el interior del vehículo se encontró una pistola calibre .45 mm, 3 cargadores para 'cuerno de chivo', así como 1 para arma .223 (AR-15).
Además de otro cargador para 5.7 x 28 milímetros ('mata policías'), y 120 cartuchos útiles de los mencionados calibres.

Al lugar de los hechos acudió el AMPFC, quien ordenó el levantamiento y traslado de los cuerpos para realizar las diligencias de ley; así como el aseguramiento del arma de fuego, cargadores, cartuchos útiles, casquillos percutidos y vehículo encontrados en el citado sitio.
Elementos de la PEI, coordinados por el AMPFC, se encuentran investigando para dar con los responsables de la muerte de Adrián Del Cid y Andrés Armenta.

fin



MATAN A BALAZOS A DOS HOMBRES
FUERON AGREDIDOS CON RÁFAGAS DE METRALLA A LA ENTRADA DE UN RANCHO
19/Aug/2015
Alfonso CAMPOS-RUBIO
Nuevo Día/Sáric, Sonora.


Como resultado de las ráfagas de metralleta que con "cuerno de chivo" y "chanate", les fueran disparadas a la entrada de un rancho ubicado a la altura del kilómetro 70 de la carretera de Altar a esta municipalidad, dejaron de existir Adrián Del Cid Buelna y Andrés Armenta Beltrán, de 40 y 27 años, oriundos de este lugar y Guasave, Sinaloa.

El portavoz de la Policía Estatal Investigadora de Sonora, dijo que Adrián era hermano del extinto Arnoldo (a) "El M4" o "El Gilo", también ejecutado a finales de abril de 2012, luego que un "comando" llegara en tres vehículos a dicho predio, donde tras una intensa balacera de varias horas, "levantaron" al mencionado, encontrándosele sin vida a la mañana siguiente junto con diez sujetos más, todo ello relacionado con el trasiego de drogas a la Unión Americana.

En cuanto al reciente doble asesinato, éste fue perpetrado cuando ambos viajaban en el GMC, Denali, "pick-up", doble cabina, negro, doble rodado, añejo, con un remolque ganadero en la parte trasera, propiedad ambos de Adrián, cuyos cadáveres quedaron en el suelo a un lado de la unidad.

Asimismo, dentro de la unidad se localizó una escuadra calibre .45, una metralleta AR-15, calibre .223, mejor conocidas como "chanates"; así como otra del calibre 5.7 por 28 mm, conocidas como "mata policías", además de tres cargadores para AK-47, calibre 7.562 por 39 mm, mencionadas como "cuerno de chivo" y 120 cartuchos de los diámetros señalados, recuperándose casquillos percutidos de las armas largas indicadas, sin que como la vez anterior se lograra la detención de los responsables. 

fin 



Deja dos muertos balacera en Tubutama
Deja dos muertos balacera en TubutamaDos hombres fueron asesinados en la entrada de un rancho ubicado en el kilómetro 70 de la carretera que Altar-El Sáric, informó mediante un comunicado la Policía Estatal Investigadora (PEI).
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Por: Redacción ElImparcial | 19/08/2015 0:22
HERMOSILLO, Sonora(PH)

Dos hombres fueron asesinados en la entrada de un rancho ubicado en el kilómetro 70 de la carretera que Altar-El Sáric, informó mediante un comunicado la Policía Estatal Investigadora (PEI).

Las víctimas fueron identificadas por la autoridad como Adrián del Cid Buelna, de 40 años de edad, originario de Cerro Prieto, municipio de El Sáric, y Andrés Armenta Beltrán, de 27 años de edad, originario de Guasave, Sinaloa, precisa el boletín.

Detalla la Policía Estatal Investigadora en el comunicado que los cuerpos fueron encontrados alrededor de las 06:50 horas de ayer y presentaban varias heridas de bala.
Ambos cuerpos, indica, estaban junto a un pick up King Cab, marca GMC, línea Denali, de color negro, doble rodado, modelo atrasado.

El automóvil tenía un remolque de color blanco para ganado, el cual, según lo informado por las autoridades, es propiedad de Del Cid Buelna.

En el lugar de los hechos los elementos aseguraron varios casquillos percutidos de arma larga de dos calibres diferentes y en el interior del auto encontraron un arma y cartuchos útiles.

Asegura alcaldesa Altar está en aparente calma 

La situación de seguridad en Altar se mantiene en aparente calma, afirmó Martha Elsa Vidrio Federico, alcaldesa de Altar.

Manifestó que los elementos del Mando Único continúan en la región.
Sobre los rumores de la presencia de grupos armados en la zona del Río Altar, aseguró desconocer dicha información.

También señaló que desconoce si ha habido más enfrentamientos.
"Me dijeron que había habido un enfrentamiento en Sáric, pero no sé hasta dónde afectó.

"Aquí está muy tranquilo Altar, el Mando Único aquí continúa", afirmó.

fin
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AZMEX UPDATE 19-8-15

AZMEX UPDATE 19 AUG 2015


Note:  So "permanent residents" cannot be deported?

Sheriff Paul Babeu blasts ICE release of 3 violent criminals
abc15.com staff
4:14 PM, Aug 18, 2015
2 hours ago


FLORENCE, AZ - Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu is speaking out about the Immigration and Customs Enforcement release of three convicted criminals into Arizona.

Babeu said a new notification system from the federal agency debuted Tuesday, alerting officials to the release of the three men – two of who are in the country illegally, the other is a permanent resident.

Musa Salah Abdelaziz Abdalla of Sudan, Dennis Valerievitch Tsoukanov of Russia, and Nasser Hanna Hermez of Iraq were all freed in Arizona within the last month, Yuma County Sheriff Leon Wilmot said.

Abdalla pleaded guilty to a baseball bat beating in Phoenix and, after violating probation, was sentenced to three years in prison.  He was released late last month.  Tsoukanov was convicted of second-degree murder in connection with the 2001 death of a man who was stabbed, doused with gasoline, and burned alive.  He was released in July 2014.  ICE took custody of him, then released him last month, Babeu said.  Hermez pleaded guilty to negligent homicide after the 2009 death of his 7-week-old daughter. 

ICE said Abdalla and Tsoukanov had to be released because the agency could not locate travel documents proving the men's citizenship in their respective countries. Hermez is "a lawful permanent resident whose current conviction record does not make him legally removable," according to ICE officials.

In a Tuesday release from Babeu and Wilmot, the sheriffs said while they appreciate the launch of the notification system, the alerts don't address the core problem of the criminals remaining in America.

"You don't have to be the Sheriff or a uniformed patrol deputy to realize that these dangerous criminals will reoffend and victimize our Arizona families," the release stated.

"To be clear, the backgrounds of the individuals in question would generally make them enforcement priorities for ICE," the agency said. "However, ICE has no legal basis for continuing to hold these individuals."

end


 


State lawmaker: AZ has collected $300,000 for border fence
Posted: Aug 18, 2015 4:02 AM CEST
Updated: Aug 18, 2015 4:29 AM CEST
By Christina EstesCONNECT


The official Build the Border Fence website lists nearly 4,100 donors . (Source: BuildTheBorderFence.com)
PHOENIX (KPHO/KTVK) -

While GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump is calling on Mexico to pay for a border wall through higher visa and border crossing fees, Arizona has been collecting cash to build its own border fence. Four years after launching a private donation campaign, Sen. Steve Smith, R, District 11, says Arizonans will soon see action.

"The intention all along is to hopefully shame the federal government into doing their job," he told us.

In 2011, Smith successfully pushed legislation to allow the state to build a fence through private donations with the permission of property owners. While the official Build the Border Fence website lists nearly 4,100 donors contributing nearly $194,000, Smith said donations by mail push the total to around $300,000. He said defense contractors have told him that's enough money to build a stretch of 5 to 10 miles.

"It's a great pilot project starting point," he said. "There absolutely are along the border tracts of state and private land that we've identified as being lucrative places to start."

Smith says the Joint Border Security Advisory Committee, which includes lawmakers, border sheriffs and agency directors appointed by the governor, will meet in the next few weeks and likely hear presentations about the best places to build. 

Smith said all donations are in a state trust and can only be used on border projects that the committee approves.





Posted: Aug 19, 2015 6:54 AM CEST
Updated: Aug 19, 2015 7:09 AM CEST
By Jonathan LoweCONNECT


The Mesa Police Department said it rescued two victims of child sex trafficking. (Source: KPHO/KTVK)
MESA, AZ (KPHO/KTVK) -

"Child escorts, human traffickers, and men looking online for sex with underage girls." 

The Mesa Police Department says its investigators encountered it all in their latest operation to crack down on human trafficking.

So far, investigators have only been able to arrest "johns" for having sex with underage victims of human trafficking in Mesa. But MPD said thanks to this latest effort, they are also now investigating three actual traffickers whom detectives believe are making money off of exploiting victims in Mesa.

MPD announced Tuesday that its nearly yearlong Project Blue Heat was not reactive law enforcement, but rather took a proactive approach.
"The primary [focus[ is to find those that are financially gaining from the sex trafficking," Mesa Police Assistant Chief Mike Dvorak said.

They also were determined to find anyone looking specifically to have sex with underage victims.
"Seven suspects were arrested for child prostitution," Dvorak said. 

The Mesa Police Department identified them as Miguel David Diego, 27; Aaron Roque, 44; Robert Lopez, 42; Levi Christopher Busby, 30; Jose Ortega-Duran, 30; Douglas F. Weryackwe, 39; and Simon R. Flores, 27.

Of high importance to the investigators, however, was rescuing children in situations of trafficking, which is exactly what they did.   "We intervened on two juveniles and were able to rescue them," Dvorak explained.

Police said Project Blue Heat put them hot on the trail of those exploiting women and children.

"We're well past the days where we can have buyers say, 'Oh, I just thought I was having sex. I didn't know how old she was,'" said Sgt. Dominick Kaufman, who led the specialized team on Project Blue Heat. "Well then shame on you. You should find out."

Ultimately, there's a whole new approach to fighting human trafficking in Mesa.
"We can charge buyers with the same statute that we charge traffickers," Kaufman added.

The Mesa Police Department got a $121,000 grant from the Hickey Family Foundation for Project Blue Heat. That provided overtime funding so that investigators on the operation weren't diverted to other cases; they focused exclusively on Blue Heat.

end
end
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Tuesday, August 11, 2015

AZMEX F&F EXTRA 11-8-15

AZMEX F&F EXTRA 11 AUG 2015

Note:  very light sentences 

N4T Investigators: Plea deal given to man indicted in murder of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry
Written By Michel Marizco
Written By Lupita Murillo


One of the men charged in the murder of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry pleaded guilty to one count of murder, Monday morning. Once a potential candidate for the death penalty after the murder of the agent, the drawn up plea deal now states that the U.S. and the defendant will ask for 360 months imprisonment, with credit for time served since his arrest in October 2012.

The Justice Department indicted Rosario Rafael Burboa Alvarez last summer in connection with the killing. Alvarez was identified as the recruiter for the rip-off crew that ran into Terry's elite BORTAC unit in the desert in December 2010. Terry was killed in the ensuing gunfight with the rip-off crew and later two AK-47 variants found at the crime scene were identified as part of the notorious Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives gunwalking operation, Operation Fast and Furious. The scandalous operation was supposed to link guns bought at a Phoenix-area gunstore to cartel gunmen trafficking the weapons to Mexico. Instead, ATF lost more than 2,000 of those weapons. Resulting congressional investigations found that the men linked to the gun purchases were being monitored by different U.S. federal agencies like DEA, the FBI and ATF, but agents weren't sharing the information with the other agencies.

Burboa was often identified in federal search warrants and charging papers as the recruiter of the group. Burboa, the U.S. said, recruited rip-off crews to rob drug smugglers of their marijuana loads, then paid them after they performed the robbery and returned to Sinaloa. In early December, the rip-off crew entered the U.S. from Mexico, retrieved a stash of weapons and food and went to work, hunting smugglers. Instead, they encountered Terry's tactical unit that had taken position at the top of a wash.

As part of the plea agreement, the United States agreed not to execute Burboa and to dismiss all other charges against him, including charges of interfering with federal officers and killing Terry with "malice aforethought" the second charge in the superseding indictment.

The plea deal also notes that Burboa had already been ordered expelled from the U.S., though it is not clear if the expulsion order derives from Terry's murder or from a previous crime.

Burboa's 30 year sentence is in line with the sentence handed to Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, the man wounded during the firefight. Osorio-Arellanes faced life but was ultimately sentenced to 30 years in 2012. Jaime Avila, Jr., the Operation Fast and Furious gunbuyer who purchased the two AK-47s found at the murder scene was also sentenced in 2012. He received a 57 month sentence.

end




Suspect charged in border agent's slaying takes plea deal
ASSOCIATED PRESS | August 11, 2015 @ 6:02 am


TUCSON, Ariz. — A suspect in the 2010 killing of a U.S. Border Patrol agent has struck a plea deal in the slaying that is at the center of a scandal over a botched U.S. gun-smuggling probe known as Operation Fast and Furious.

Rosario Rafael Burboa-Alvarez has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and will likely be sentenced to 30 years in prison. The plea deal struck this week allows him credit for time served.

Burboa-Alvarez is accused of assembling the armed crew that was supposed to steal marijuana from smugglers when they encountered Border Patrol agent Brian Terry and others on Dec. 14, 2010. He initially pleaded not guilty.

A gun fight between the so-called "rip-off crew" and border agents ensued, and Terry was killed. Authorities later discovered that two of the guns found at the scene of the murder had been part of a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives operation in which the federal government allowed criminals to buy guns in Phoenix-area shops with the intention of tracking them once they made their way into Mexico. But the agency lost track of more than 1,400 of the 2,000 guns they allowed smugglers to buy.

The scandal resulted in the resignation of top officials.

Since then, authorities have focused on arresting and trying all suspects involved.

The first was Manual Osorio-Arellanes, who was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison in February 2014 after pleading guilty to first-degree murder. Osorio-Arellanes was wounded in the shooting and maintains that he was not the shooter. Prosecutors said he was likely not the one who shot Terry, but he should still be held accountable for his role in the agent's death.

Two others who were at the scene of the slaying are facing charges in Arizona after being extradited from Mexico.

Jesus Leonel Sanchez-Meza, also known as Lionel Portillo-Meza, was extradited in June 2014. Ivan Soto-Barraza was captured in Mexico in September 2013 and was brought to the U.S. on July 31, 2014. Two others, Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga and Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes, remain fugitives.

The suspects in custody are being prosecuted in federal court in Tucson by prosecutors from San Diego. Trial for Sanchez-Meza and Soto-Barraza is scheduled for Sept. 22.

END
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Friday, August 7, 2015

AZMEX EXTRA 7-8-15

AZMEX EXTRA 7 AUG 2015 

Note:  take a look at the photo at the link.   Would be very interesting to learn how she got it. 


CBP: Phoenix woman tried to smuggle weapon, car into Mexico

Posted: Aug 07, 2015 5:53 PM CEST
Updated: Aug 07, 2015 5:53 PM CEST
By Phil Benson 

Officers said they found a rifle, ammo and drugs inside the vehicle. (Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
TUCSON, AZ (KPHO/KTVK) -

A 19-year-old Phoenix area woman was arrested Tuesday night for allegedly attempting to smuggle a weapon and stolen vehicle into Mexico, U.S. Customs and Border Protection authorities said.

It happened at the Dennis DeConcini crossing at the Port of Nogales.

CBP officers conducted a more thorough search of a vehicle driven by Cecily Abed. They said they found a tactical rifle, four empty ammunition magazines and a small amount of methamphetamine and heroin.

Officers said they also learned the vehicle was reported stolen, according to Avondale Police Department records. 

Authorities seized the weapon, magazines, drugs and vehicle, and turned Abed over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.
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Sunday, August 2, 2015

AZMEX SPECIAL 31-7-15

AZMEX SPECIAL 31 JUL 2015

Note:  Unlike some U.S. jurisdictions, Mexico does not give sanctuary to these types.

Accused sex offender arrested, fled to Mexico

Posted: Aug 01, 2015 6:12 PM CEST
Updated: Aug 01, 2015 6:12 PM CEST
By Phil Benson
Robert Guardiola (Source: Pinal County Sheriff's Office)

Guardiola was booked into the Los Angeles County Jail. (Source: Pinal County Sheriff's Office)
FLORENCE, AZ (KPHO/KTVK) -

A man wanted by Pinal County authorities on suspicion of sex abuse and molestation was arrested Wednesday at Los Angeles International Airport. 

Robert Guardiola, 45, an American citizen, was wanted by the Pinal County Sheriff's Office for 11 counts of sexual conduct with a minor and sexual abuse.   

In September 2013, prior to his indictment, Guardiola fled to Mexico after investigators discovered he had allegedly sexually abused and molested children under 15 repeatedly over several years. 

The victims were two young girls, PCSO said. One of the girls told her mother she had been molested and sexually abused over the past several years. A Pinal County Sheriff's Office investigation led to another victim, who repeated the same accusations. 

In February 2014, Guardiola contacted Deputy U.S. Marshals and indicted he wanted to surrender. A short time later, he vanished. 

 Marshals in Phoenix obtained information that Guardiola was likely living in Purisima del Rincon, Guanajuato, Mexico. Mexican authorities were able to locate and arrest Guardiola on Wednesday. 

Guardiola was turned over to Mexican immigration authorities, who then deported him to Los Angeles,

Where he was booked into the Los Angeles County Jail to await extradition to Pinal County.

Copyright 2015 KPHO/KTVK (KPHO Broadcasting Corporation). All rights reserved.
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AZMEX UPDATE 25-7-15

AZMEX UPDATE 25 JUL 2015


Note:  Local interest mostly.  Ejidos are a Mexican (PRI) version of the old collective farms, think HOA for farmers.


Ejido families fleeing leave everything for fear
Details Published on Saturday July 25, 2015,
Written by Marco A. Manriquez / El Diario 

CABORCA.

Whole families of El Ejemplo in Caborca ​​are evacuated for fear of being slaughtered, and leave property
There are already several families have been 'exiled' ejido El Ejemplo, in the municipality of Caborca ​​(located 110 kilometers of the head), with help from the state and municipal police, fearing that its members are executed.

This transpired after being threatened by a criminal group operating in the region, pressed towards the line, it has killed several people from that settlement and other neighboring ranches, with the technique of slaughter.

It is noteworthy that the said group belonging to a criminal cell that territory is disputed, with another that also seeks to control the movement of drugs and undocumented immigrants, to the US; and armaments and money (in reverse), nearly two weeks ago slew commissioner of the ejido El Ejemplo, Emilio Bojorquez Bojorquez, 63 and his son, Israel Bojorquez Gutierrez, 31, after which they kidnapped the night before ( July 12), their bodies being found another morning.

After that double execution, the murderers threatened other families to abandon the ejido, or they would have    the same fate, and from that day to date at least 10 families have been evacuated, with all their belongings most important, they are escorted by heavily state and municipal police authorities, to avoid being attacked, on the way to a safer place for them.

It is noteworthy that also in recent weeks were killed at least two people (supervisors or workers of nearby ranches belonging to known caborquenses families), but have so far  officials have not reported the deaths, nor released their names.

end
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Thursday, July 9, 2015

AZMEX UPDATE 9-7-15

AZMEX UPDATE 9 JUL 2015

Note:  disinformation?  Does BLM not keep records of the agency's weapons?


Land agency: Agent's gun may have been used in pier slaying
 July 8, 2015 @ 10:24 am


SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The U.S. Bureau of Land Management said Wednesday that it is investigating whether an agent's gun was used in the shooting death of a woman walking on a popular San Francisco pier.



BLM spokeswoman Dana Wilson said the agency is trying to determine who owned the gun and whether it was a personal or service weapon -- the latest twist in a case that has become a flashpoint in the country's debate over immigration.


San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr says the weapon was stolen from a federal agent's car.

Juan Francisco Lopez Sanchez, who has been deported to his native Mexico five times and is suspected of living in the United States illegally, told television news stations that he found the gun on the pier and that it accidentally fired. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday to murder charges in Kathryn Steinle's death.

Steinle, 32, was gunned down last week while strolling with her father along San Francisco's popular waterfront area.

Federal officials transferred Sanchez to San Francisco's jail in March to face a 20-year-old marijuana charge after he completed his latest prison term for entering the country illegally.

The San Francisco sheriff, citing the city's "sanctuary city" policy, released Sanchez in April after prosecutors dropped the drug charge, despite an Immigration and Customs Enforcement request to hold him for federal authorities so deportation proceedings could begin.

He told two television stations who interviewed him in jail that he found the gun used in Steinle's killing wrapped in a shirt on the pedestrian pier she was walking on. Sanchez said the gun went off in his hands, and his public defender, Matt Gonzalez, said Tuesday that the San Francisco woman's death appeared accidental.

The shooting has touched off criticism from leading Republican lawmakers and from top Democrats, including California's U.S. senators.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton told CNN that San Francisco was wrong to ignore the ICE detainer request and release Sanchez from custody.

"The city made a mistake not to deport someone that the federal government strongly felt should be deported," Clinton said.

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein called on San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee to start cooperating with federal immigration officials who want to deport felons such as Sanchez.

"I strongly believe that an undocumented individual, convicted of multiple felonies and with a detainer request from ICE, should not have been released," Feinstein said.

The mayor's office said it has reached out to Homeland Security officials to determine if there's a way to cooperate while still upholding the city's sanctuary policy.

"Mayor Lee shares the senator's concerns surrounding the nature of Mr. Sanchez's transfer to San Francisco and release," said Christine Falvey, a spokeswoman for the mayor.

U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer said she asked Gov. Jerry Brown if state law was followed in Sanchez's release.

"For decades, I have supported deporting violent criminals, and I have always believed that sanctuary should not be given to felons," Boxer said.

San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi has defended Sanchez's release and the city law requiring his office to ignore ICE detainer requests. The sheriff said ICE could have obtained a warrant or court order to keep Sanchez in custody.   "ICE knew where he was," Mirkarimi said Monday.

State and federal Republicans, meanwhile, said they would look into the matter.

Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, who chairs the Senate's homeland security committee, criticized federal officials and demanded to know why Sanchez was not deported.
"Does that make any sense to you?" Johnson demanded to know at a hearing Tuesday. "Because I'll tell you it doesn't make any sense to the American public."

At Sanchez's arraignment Tuesday, prosecutor Dianna Garcia argued against releasing Sanchez on bail, saying, "This was an act of random violence, shooting an innocent victim in the back."

The judge set bail at $5 million, which Sanchez's public defender said will keep him jailed pending trial.

___
END


Note:  Still would be very interesting to get the data on age and gender of the "children".
Anyone in Congress interested?   Media?   A shortage of "homeboys" in the U.S.?


Few unaccompanied immigrant minors returned to home countries
 CRONKITE NEWS/AUBREY RUMORE | July 8, 2015 @ 10:03 am


WASHINGTON -- Fewer than 2,000 of the 51,000 unaccompanied immigrant children who showed up at the Southwest border last year have been repatriated, a Senate panel was told Tuesday, a pace that critics said may have "incentivized" more migration.

Border officials testified that the number of unaccompanied minors showing up at the Southwest border is less than half of what it was last summer, when a flood of children led to what President Barack Obama called a "humanitarian crisis" at the border.

But members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee were clearly frustrated by delays in sending those children back home, after administration promises last year to "show these Central American countries we are sending people back."

Failure to do so just creates an incentive for immigrant children to make the dangerous journey to cross the border where "90 percent or more of you will be able to stay," said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, the committee chairman.

Witnesses from the departments of Justice and Homeland Security said many of those children face persecution back home and most will qualify for asylum here. But they are caught here waiting for a hearing in backlogged immigration courts to hear their asylum pleas, the officials said.

Sen. Tom Carper, D-Delaware, said that while the "numbers are clearly down" at the border from last year, he said some of the immigrants who showed up then were recently told they might not get a hearing until November 2019.   "Clearly, this is unacceptable," Carper said.

Juan Osuna, the director of the Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review, said immigration courts had a backlog of 449,569 cases pending on May 26, a "101 percent backlog increase over the past five years."   "The immigration court system is facing many challenges," Osuna testified. He said the department is "engaged in a focused process to hire many more immigration judges to adjudicate these cases."

But Carper said the backlog is only part of the problem. The government still has "humanitarian responsibilities to protect the children in our custody" while they're awaiting a court date, he said.

While many children remain, the committee was told that fewer are showing up.

After jumping from 12,000 in 2012 to 23,000 in 2013, the number of unaccompanied children at the border spiked to nearly 58,000 last year, said Philip Miller, assistant director of field operations for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The number was down to 18,246 through the first three quarters of fiscal 2015, he said.

Johnson blamed the increase directly on the president's 2012 announcement of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program that delays deportation of immigrants who were brought here illegally as children.   "There's one dramatic event that occurred in 2012 - the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals," Johnson said, adding that while there were many contributing factors, DACA was "the primary cause for that surge."

But Mark Greenberg, an acting assistant secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families, said that violence in their Central American home countries plays a large part in the decision to migrate.

Johnson agreed that violence and threats are an underlying cause, but noted that homicide rates in most Central American countries have actually decreased in recent years. He again pointed to DACA as the cause for the continuing migration.

Whatever the cause, Greenberg said the government is better positioned now than it was last year "to be prepared to provide humanitarian care as rapidly as possible, given the myriad of factors that can impact migration flows."

Johnson concluded by saying the government needs to start making "incremental improvements." He called for a "step-by-step, continuous improvement plan," to address the issue.

end


Note:  close today's AZMEX UPDATE with this stinking story.

Dille: Video shows drug bundles blocking sewer line
Courtesy City of Nogales
Blockage
A video feed shows the blockage in the sewer line. City Manager Shane Dille called it "drug bundles and some sort of rack."
Posted: Tuesday, July 7, 2015 2:34 pm | Updated: 5:34 pm, Tue Jul 7, 2015.
By Manuel C. Coppola 
Nogales International

The plug in the cross-border sewer line that caused a home on Morley Avenue to flood with up to three feet of raw sewage appears on video footage to be drug bundles, City Manager Shane Dille said Tuesday.
"We were able to capture video inside the IOI and determined that what was blocking the line were drug bundles and some sort of rack" possibly used to try to haul the bundles out of the pipe, Dille said.
In an 8 a.m. interview on Tuesday at the home on 470 N. Morley Ave., Dille explained that crews were cutting out a section of the street asphalt to clear the pipe and conduct repairs on the International Outflow Interceptor (IOI), as the sewer line is called. He also gave a reporter an exclusive look inside the home just south of the Nogales Clinic.

The walls still had the markings indicating the depth the sewer water reached inside the home. The opening to a tunnel that led to a concrete-boxed area of the Nogales Wash was visible in the corner of the living room.
Officials believe the tunnel was dug for the purpose of extracting drugs being smuggled across the border through the sewer line, but the culprits damaged the pipe in the process.
Dille pointed to oxygen tanks and what appeared to be a hose used to pump air into the tunnel as further evidence of the illicit activity. A drill was discovered as well.
The home first flooded on Sunday afternoon, and while city officials immediately suspected the problem was caused by smuggling activity, conditions at the scene made investigation difficult.

The U.S. Border Patrol, which generally handles drug-tunnel discoveries in Nogales, has yet to issue a statement on the incident.

Crews blocked the pipe at a manhole upstream and diverted the sewer into the Nogales Wash, which is damned near Hohokam Drive so that the sewage water drains back into the IOI. The line runs along the Nogales Wash and carries at least 10 million gallons of sewage per day from Mexico to the Nogales International Wastewater Treatment Plant in Rio Rico.

Video footage on Tuesday also pinpointed an 18-inch breach in the pipe near the tunnel, Dille said. Material is on order and expected to arrive Wednesday morning to affix a "sleeve" over the hole to stop the leak. He said he hopes the line repair to be completed by Wednesday. Repaving will probably not be completed until Thursday.
Meanwhile, the neighboring Nogales Clinic at Morley Avenue and La Castellana Drive remained open. Patients were detouring up through East Adams Street and down to La Castellana to get to their appointments on Tuesday.

end
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Wednesday, July 8, 2015

AZMEX UPDATE 8-7-15

AZMEX UPDATE 8 JUL 2015

Note:  Will be very interesting to see how, or if, this one is prosecuted.   Several fed and AZ laws could be used.  

4 facing drug, weapons charges after traffic stop near Rimrock
Posted: Jul 08, 2015 6:13 AM CEST
Updated: Jul 08, 2015 7:50 AM CEST
By Catherine Holland 

Robert Gorman, 33 (Source: Yavapai County Sheriff's Office)
Alyssa Martinez, 27 (Source: Yavapai County Sheriff's Office)
Danica Trujillo, 25 (Source: Yavapai County Sheriff's Office) 
Jessie Gutierrez, 27 (Source: Yavapai County Sheriff's Office)

RIMROCK, AZ (KPHO/KTVK) -
Four people are facing a variety of drug and weapons charges after a deputy with the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office stopped their vehicle on Interstate 17 near Rimrock last week.

According to YCSO, the deputy initially stopped the sedan for equipment and moving violations.

After discovering multiple weapons and drugs, including 0.5 pound of meth, deputies arrested Jessie Gutierrez, 27; Robert Gorman, 33; Alyssa Martinez, 27; and Danica Trujillo, 25. 
Gutierrez, Gorman and Martinez are from Mexico. Trujillo is an Arizona resident.

Deputies became suspicious while talking to Trujillo, who was driving the car.

"During the conversation, Trujillo exhibited abnormal nervousness and Gutierrez Gorman Martinez Trujillo had a hard time identifying her passengers," according to YCSO. Deputies later learned that Trujillo was wants on a drug possession warrant out of New Mexico.

Trujillo claimed Gutierrez was the owner of the car.

Deputies said Gutierrez pretended to be asleep in the front seat and then claimed not to have the ownership documentation for the sedan.

"When the deputy directed him to exit the vehicle, Gutierrez refused and began digging around his seat," according to YCSO. "Sensing he might be reaching for a weapon, the occupants were held at gunpoint and eventually removed with the assistance of additional deputies."

While searching the car, deputies discovered a loaded 9mm handgun stuffed between the seat and the front console, as well a  bag of marijuana and a container of meth in the console.

In the back seat, they found a plastic bag of meth and a syringe with what appeared to be meth residue.

Moving on to the truck, deputies recovered five more weapons, including two semi-automatic rifles and a sawed-off rifle. There also were nearly 1,000 rounds of ammunition, as well as a bullet proof vest and more drugs and drug paraphernalia.

YCSO said the investigation into the suspects' activities is ongoing.

Rimrock is about 90 minutes north of Phoenix.




UPDATES on SF murder   Also reported that the firearm belonged to a fed agent.   Unknown at this time which fed agency, or if the firearm will get the death penalty.  Boots, anti-nausea drug, or stiff drink  suggested for many of the quotes in next two stories.   "Accidental"  


A look at release of the immigrant charged in pier killing
By AMY TAXIN and JANIE HAR
Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The city of San Francisco has come under fire after it released Juan Francisco Lopez Sanchez, a Mexican immigrant in the country illegally, despite a request by federal immigration authorities to keep him in custody so they could deport him for a sixth time.

Sanchez, who has four prior felony drug convictions, is now charged with murder in the killing last week of a woman at a city pier. He has pleaded not guilty.

San Francisco does not honor requests from immigration authorities to hold individuals in custody. The city is one of dozens of communities in the nation that don't fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities on the requests known as detainers, which are used to hold arrestees once their criminal cases have concluded so officials can seek to deport them.

Here are some things to know about the case:

WHY WAS SANCHEZ IN THE SAN FRANCISCO JAIL?

Sanchez pleaded guilty in 2011 to illegally re-entering the U.S. after having been deported and was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison. He was finishing up his sentence when he was turned over in March to the San Francisco Sheriff's Department on a two-decades-old drug charge.

HOW DID SANCHEZ GET RELEASED?

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a detainer asking San Francisco authorities to keep Sanchez in custody so he could be deported again after the drug case was resolved. The detainer was issued, immigration authorities say, because immigration violations are administrative, not criminal.

San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi said his office routinely ignores the detainers unless they are backed by an active arrest warrant. He said ICE was aware of San Francisco's policy. Sanchez was released after prosecutors eventually dismissed the drug case because it was so old and involved a small amount of marijuana.

WHY DON'T SOME JURISDICTIONS FULLY COMPLY WITH IMMIGRATION DETAINERS?

Many jurisdictions believe the detainers erode police relations with immigrant communities by making people reluctant to report crimes. The criticism increased after the federal government rolled out its Secure Communities program giving immigration agents access to information about arrestees booked into local jails.

Advocates rallied against the program when some immigrants found themselves facing deportation after being arrested on minor charges, and California passed a law limiting when detainers could be honored.

Last year, a number of jurisdictions stopped releasing arrestees to ICE altogether after a federal court ruling in Oregon found a woman's rights were violated when she was held in jail without probable cause.

WHAT IS AN IMMIGRATION DETAINER?

Detainers call for a law enforcement agency to hold people for as long as 48 hours beyond their release date until they can be picked up by ICE. Since some agencies have stopped honoring the detainers, ICE has started asking in some instances for notification by police when arrestees are going to be released.

The agency has also said it will focus on detaining immigrants who are convicted of serious crimes or pose a threat to public safety.


AP Source: US agent's gun used in San Francisco pier slaying
By PAUL ELIAS
Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A law enforcement official says the weapon used in the shooting death of a woman on a San Francisco pier belonged to a federal agent - the latest twist in a case that has become a flashpoint in the country's debate over immigration.

The official, who had been briefed on the matter, said Tuesday that a check of the gun's serial number shows it belonged to a federal agent.

The official - who was not authorized to speak publicly about the case and spoke on condition of anonymity - declined to elaborate.

The San Francisco Police Department, which is investigating the case, refused to comment on the disclosure.

The suspected gunman, Juan Francisco Lopez Sanchez, has been deported to his native Mexico five times and is suspected of living in the United States illegally when Kathryn Steinle, 32, was gunned down last week while on an evening stroll with her father along San Francisco's popular waterfront area.

Federal officials transferred Sanchez to San Francisco's jail in March to face a 20-year-old marijuana charge after Sanchez completed his latest prison term for illegally entering the country.

The San Francisco sheriff, citing the city's "sanctuary city" policy, released Sanchez in April after prosecutors dropped the drug charge, despite an Immigration and Customs Enforcement request to hold him for federal authorities so deportation proceedings could begin.

Sanchez pleaded not guilty Tuesday to first-degree murder.

He told two television stations who interviewed him in jail that he found the gun used in Steinle's killing wrapped in a shirt on the pedestrian pier she was walking on. Sanchez said the gun went off in his hands, and his public defender, Matt Gonzalez, said Tuesday that the San Francisco woman's death appeared accidental.

Regardless of the reason behind Steinle's death, the shooting has touched off criticism from leading Republican lawmakers - and from top Democrats, including both of California's U.S. senators.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton told CNN that San Francisco was wrong to ignore the ICE detainer request and release Sanchez from custody.
"The city made a mistake, not to deport someone that the federal government strongly felt should be deported," Clinton said.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein called on San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee to start cooperating with federal immigration officials who want to deport felons such as Sanchez.
"I strongly believe that an undocumented individual, convicted of multiple felonies and with a detainer request from ICE, should not have been released," Feinstein said.

The mayor's office said it has reached out to Homeland Security officials to determine if there's a way to cooperate while still upholding the city's sanctuary policy.   "Mayor Lee shares the senator's concerns surrounding the nature of Mr. Sanchez's transfer to San Francisco and release," said Christine Falvey, a spokeswoman for the mayor.

Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, also from Northern California, said she asked Gov. Jerry Brown if state law was followed in Sanchez's release.   "For decades, I have supported deporting violent criminals, and I have always believed that sanctuary should not be given to felons," Boxer said.

San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi has defended Sanchez's release and the city law requiring it to ignore ICE detainer requests. The sheriff said ICE could have obtained a warrant or court order to keep Sanchez in custody.   "ICE knew where he was," Mirkarimi said Monday.

State and federal Republicans, meanwhile, said they would look into the matter.

Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, who chairs the Senate's homeland security committee, criticized federal officials and demanded to know why Sanchez was not deported.
"Does that make any sense to you?" Johnson demanded to know at a hearing Tuesday. "Because I'll tell you it doesn't make any sense to the American public."

Republican state Sen. Jeff Stone said he would introduce legislation in Sacramento to require cities to comply with ICE detainer requests.

At Sanchez's arraignment Tuesday, prosecutor Dianna Garcia argued against releasing Sanchez on bail, saying, "This was an act of random violence, shooting an innocent victim in the back."

The judge set bail at $5 million, which Gonzalez said will keep Sanchez jailed pending trial.


More:  






Note:  Winner of this week's Pravda Prize. 

Texas Man On Probation Arrested In Fatal Shooting Of Woman At San Francisco Pier 14
July 2, 2015 4:34 PM

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — A man has been arrested in the shooting death of a woman who was walking along San Francisco's Embarcadero with her family Wednesday evening.
Texas resident Francisco Sanchez had been detained as a person of interest south along the Embarcadero shortly after the shooting at Pier 14 after witnesses on the pier snapped his photo, which was quickly forwarded to officers investigating the killing.


UPDATE: Man Arrested In Fatal Shooting Of Woman At SF Pier 14 Had Been Deported 5 Times
Sanchez was arrested Thursday. He is 45 or 46 years old and on probation out of Texas.


Sources told KPIX 5 that police divers Thursday recovered a weapon from the black, silty bay waters just off the Embarcadero. It was not clear whether it was the weapon used in the killing.

The victim was identified as 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle, who had recently moved to San Francisco. Police said Steinle suffered a single gunshot wound to her torso and that the shooting appeared to be completely random.

"There were no words exchanged between the suspect and the victim," said Sgt. Michael Andraychak. "The victim said something to her family members to the extent that she didn't feel well, that she just realized something had taken place and she fell to the ground."
Her brother, Brad Steinle, said she was simply walking with her father along the busy tourist locale when she was shot.
Her father and bystanders tried to perform CPR on her, police said, but she was pronounced dead at San Francisco General Hospital about two hours after the shooting.

Steinle was from Pleasanton and a graduate of Amador Valley High School who had moved to San Francisco to work for medical technology firm Medtronic. She is survived by her parents and her brother.
"She was the most wonderful, loving caring person and if anybody could take anything from this — if you love somebody, just tell them that you love them," said brother Brad Steinle.

Andraychak said the Steinle family wanted the police department to relay a message to the public, expressing their gratitude to all the Good Samaritans who tried to help their daughter following the shooting and to all those who provided police with information about the suspect.


END  
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Saturday, July 4, 2015

AZMEX SPECIAL 4-7-15

AZMEX SPECIAL 4 JUL 2015

Note:  Appeared on AOL of all places.  In CA, he must have passed the UBC to have obtained a firearm?
"San Francisco is a sanctuary city and local money cannot be spent to cooperate with federal immigration law."  Also, SEVEN felony convictions - why wasn't he still in prison?  


San Francisco: No 'legal basis' to hold shooting suspect
The Associated PressAPJ
Jul 3rd 2015 8:32PM



SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A man suspected in the shooting death of a woman at a busy San Francisco tourist destination has seven felony convictions and has been deported five times, most recently in 2009, a federal agency said Friday.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had turned Francisco Sanchez over to San Francisco police March 26 on an outstanding drug warrant, agency spokeswoman Virginia Kice said.
Officers arrested Francisco Sanchez on about an hour after Wednesday's seemingly random slaying of Kathryn Steinle at Pier 14 — one of the busiest attractions in the city. People gather there to take in the views, joggers exercise, and families push strollers at all hours.

Sanchez was on probation for an unspecified conviction, police Sgt. Michael Andraychak said Thursday.
Kice said ICE issued a detainer for Sanchez in March, requesting to be notified if he was going to be released. The detainer was not honored, she said.

Freya Horne, counsel for the sheriff's office, said Friday that federal detention orders are not a "legal basis" to hold someone, so Sanchez was released April 15. San Francisco is a sanctuary city and local money cannot be spent to cooperate with federal immigration law.

The city does not turn over people who are in the country illegally unless there's an active warrant for their arrest, she said. Horne said they checked and found none. ICE could have issued an active warrant if they wanted the city to keep him, she said.

"It's not legal to hold someone on a request to detain. This is not just us. This is a widely adopted position," Horne said.

Steinle was gunned down while out for an evening stroll with her father along the waterfront. Police said witnesses heard no argument or dispute before the shooting, suggesting it was a random attack.
Liz Sullivan told the San Francisco Chronicle (http://bit.ly/1IuWbKw) the killing of her daughter was unbelievable and surreal. "I don't think I've totally grasped it," Sullivan said.

Police Sgt. Michael Andraychak said witnesses snapped photos of Sanchez immediately after the shooting, and the images helped police make the arrest while he was walking on a sidewalk a few blocks away.
Police were still waiting for fingerprint identification on Sanchez, who is believed to be a 45-year-old whose last address was in Texas. Authorities said he does not yet have a lawyer who could be reached for comment.

Sullivan told the Chronicle that her 32-year-old daughter turned to her father after she was shot and said she didn't feel well before collapsing.
"She just kept saying, 'Dad, help me, help me,' " Sullivan said.
Her father immediately began CPR before paramedics rushed the woman to the hospital. "She fought for her life," Sullivan said.
Steinle went to high school and previously lived about 40 miles east of San Francisco, the newspaper said. She recently moved just blocks from the waterfront and worked for a medical technology company.
___
This story has been corrected to show the shooting happened Wednesday instead of Thursday.

end
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Friday, July 3, 2015

[FWD: What_They're_Saying_About_my_Bill_to_End_Catch_and_Release]



-------- Original Message --------
Subject: What_They're_Saying_About_my_Bill_to_End_Catch_and_Release
From: "Representative Matt Salmon" <AZ05MSIMA@mail.house.gov>
Date: Thu, July 02, 2015 2:16 pm


       
In Case You Missed It
Click here to open this e-mail in its own browser window Click here to open a plain text version of this email

Dear Friend,
This week I was honored to announce a new bill I've introduced to honor Grant Ronnebeck, the 21-year-old clerk who was murdered in cold blood by an illegal immigrant in Mesa earlier this year.  Apolinar Altamirano, his murderer, was a convicted felon released by ICE.
Grant's Law would require the Department of Homeland Security to detain any alien who is unlawfully present in the United States and is arrested for criminal offenses which would render them inadmissible or deportable.  It would also mandate completion of their removal proceedings within 90 days.
In case you missed it, please take a look at this opinion piece by an Arizona Republic Columnist and let me know your thoughts.  Nothing we do can bring Grant back, but we can require that the President's broken Catch-and-Release policy stop.
Matt
Salmon's immigration bill a fitting answer to tragedy
by Laurie Roberts, The Republic | azcentral.com
Rep. Matt Salmon has introduced a bill that would bar federal authorities from releasing undocumented immigrants who have been accused or convicted of serious crimes.

And he wants them deported within 90 days.

The fact that we need legislation to accomplish this is astonishing.

But apparently we do.

Just ask Steve Ronnebeck. His 21-year-old son, Grant, was killed in January over a pack of cigarettes. Apolinar Altamirano – a convicted felon allowed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to walk the streets for TWO YEARS while awaiting deportation – now stands accused of Grant Ronnebeck's murder.

This didn't need to happen. It shouldn't have happened.

More: Salmon pitches bill to detain immigrants accused or convicted of serious crimes

Altamirano had been arrested in August 2012 after a home invasion in which a woman said she was kidnapped and sexually assaulted. The Maricopa County Attorney's Office allowed him to plead guilty to a low-level burglary. He was sentenced to two years' probation and in January 2013 was turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Four days later, ICE released him on a $10,000 bond, to await his deportation hearing.

It didn't matter that he was a felon. It didn't matter that two orders of protection were filed against him, including one from a woman who said he's threatened to kill her and pointed a gun at her boyfriend.

But it mattered greatly to the Ronenbeck family. They just didn't know it until 4 a.m. on Jan. 22. Police say Altamirano walked into a Mesa QuikTrip, dumped a jar of change on the counter and demanded a pack of cigarettes. When Grant wasn't quick enough to comply, he was murdered. The gunman then stepped over Grant's body to grab two packs of cigarettes and left.

Grant Ronnebeck isn't the only victim of federal incompetence. Between 2010 and 2014, the Department of Homeland Security admits that 121 undocumented immigrants who committed crimes and were released while awaiting deportation went on to kill someone – or at least be charged with some form of homicide.

Altamirano makes 122.

The Obama administration has said deportation of criminals is its highest priority yet more than 66,000 convicted felons awaiting deportation were released by ICE in fiscal 2013 and 2014, according to DHS.

Meanwhile, the immigration courts are swamped. Arizona has the eighth largest backlog of pending deportation cases, with an average wait time of 695 days, according to Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.

Grant Ronnebeck died on Day 749 of Altamirano's wait.

Steve Ronnebeck is hoping that the sacrifice of his son might prompt our leaders to finally do something.

Salmon's bill – Grant's law, he's calling it – would end the "catch and release" policy that allows the Altamiranos of the world to walk free and it would require deportation within 90 days.

Presumably it comes along with the hefty infusion of resources clearly needed for the court system.

But surely this is something that both Democrats and Republicans can agree that we need to do.

To figure out a way to hold serious criminals who weren't supposed to be here in the first place. To figure out a way to quickly deport them and then to keep them out.

Tragically, the only way to get Altamirano off the streets was over Grant Ronnebeck's dead body. How many more Grants must there be before our leaders fix this?
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