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DOUGLAS - In what appears to have been a retaliation by Mexican drug smugglers, a man's home was shot up and a travel trailer he used for storage was set on fire Wednesday morning.
The 58-year-old man who lives near Douglas was not injured during the incident.
The situation that lead to a confrontation between the man and the apparent smugglers began Tuesday morning, said Lee Morgan, resident agent in charge of the Douglas Immigration and Customs Enforcement office.
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An ICE agent spotted a vehicle illegally entering the United States on Tuesday and one of the people in the vehicle pointed a weapon at the agent, Morgan said Thursday.
"The ICE agent fired two shots in self defense, causing the driver of the vehicle to flee back into Mexico," he said.
A check with Mexican law enforcement did not turn up anyone who had sought medical treatment in Agua Prieta, Sonora, Morgan said.
About 24 hours later, the man who was the victim of the Wednesday morning attack and who had seen the incident on Tuesday involving the ICE agent saw the same vehicle come back into the United States.
Cochise County Sheriff's Department Sgt. R. Morales said the man, who is not being identified, confirmed he had seen the Tuesday incursion and fired three shots from his 30-30 rifle at the vehicle on Wednesday.
The vehicle again turned around and went back into Mexico, said Morales, who works out of the Sheriff's Department's Douglas substation.
The Wednesday incident began around 7:20 a.m. Forty minutes later, people apparently illegally entering the United States from Mexico headed for the man's home.
That group opened fire on the man's home and set fire to his 26-foot travel trailer, Morales said. The man was inside his home when the culprits began firing.
ICE agents were on the scene first after the incident. Morgan said his agents had heard the gunfire and saw smoke coming from the area east of Geronimo Trial Road where the Tuesday shooting by an ICE agent happened.
Responding to the scene, they found the man was not injured, although his home had a number of bullet holes in it.
The U.S. Border Patrol also responded to the incident.
At least 21 AK-47 shell casings were found outside the man's home, Morgan added.
Morales said 9 mm and 40-caliber casings also were discovered.
Although there is no hard proof that the perpetrators of the crime were drug smugglers, the way the incident happened leads Morgan to the logical conclusion they were trying to bring drugs into the United States.
The Douglas man was tired of drug smugglers crossing his property, Morgan said, adding challenging smugglers puts an individual's life in jeopardy.
"We plea with everyone to contact us or the Border Patrol. We ask that they not stop any smugglers for their own safety," Morgan said.
Roger Barnett, a Sierra Vista businessman who has a ranch not far from where the incident took place, said those involved in illegal activities from Mexico are becoming more bold.
On Wednesday, a 4,000-gallon water tank truck was stolen from his ranch near Douglas, Barnett said. In the process, those who took it in hopes of getting the vehicle to Mexico crashed through three gates on his property and broke a water line, causing the loss of about 10,000 gallons of water, he added.
Although the federal government announced its Arizona Border Control Initiative on Tuesday, Barnett is skeptical it will do anything to stop illegal activities from crossing the international boundary, as the incident on Wednesday indicates.
The water truck, which Barnett said would have made a good drug-smuggling vehicle, did not make it into Mexico.
The truck was abandoned after driving it on a flat tire.
Morgan said he understands the frustration of area residents, but noted that federal agencies are working together better.
On Wednesday, agents from the Douglas Border Patrol Station also apprehended Armando Rodriquez, 41, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who is a convicted sex offender.
He entered the United States about three miles east of Douglas around 2:20 a.m. Wednesday before being apprehended. While processing his fingerprints, agents discovered he was convicted in 1996 for sexual abuse with a minor in New York, according to a U.S. Border Patrol press release on Thursday.
Rodriquez, who was formally deported in 2001, is being held in federal custody on a felony charge of "re-entry of an aggravated felon," the Border Patrol said.
HERALD/REVIEW senior reporter Bill Hess can be reached at 515-4615 or by e-mail at bill.hess@svherald.com.
nicole ray wrote on Jun 21, 2009 3:35 PM: