Posted on 04/13/2005 7:08:12 PM PDT by DJ Taylor
A Mesa Arizona man was arrested Monday on suspicion of holding seven illegal immigrants at gunpoint. Patrick Haab tried to arrest the illegal Mexican immigrants at an Interstate 8 rest area near Gila Bend about 11 p.m. Sunday, a Maricopa County sheriff’s spokesman said.
Haab asked another man at the rest area to help him hold the seven at gunpoint until officers arrived, Sheriff Joe Arpaio said.
The immigrants told deputies Haab threatened to shoot them and asked that charges be pressed against him, Arpaio said. The man who helped Haab left before officials got there. Deputies were still looking for him.
“We should never take the law in our own hands. . . . How did this guy even know they’re illegals?” Arpaio said. “That’s dangerous, too.”
Haab was arrested Monday morning and booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail in Phoenix on suspicion of seven counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Arpaio, who once served as a border official with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, could not say whether Haab was part of the Minuteman Project because Haab stopped answering questions.
The incident raised fears with one immigrants rights activist that citizen enforcement similar to the Minuteman Project could be spreading.
“I also understand the frustration that many people have with illegal immigration,” said Elias Bermudez, executive director of Centro de Ayuda in Phoenix. “But I believe taking the law into our own hands and causing hardship and fear on another human is immoral and unjust.”
Bermudez worries that this may indicate citizen immigration enforcement could spread nationwide.
“Individuals who cross the border illegally are not only going to face death because of climate conditions,” Bermudez said. “They are also facing death at the hands of vigilantes.”
The Minuteman Project’s Web site says the group is dedicated to peaceful assembly at the border between Arizona and Mexico to bring awareness to the issue.
I have a spliting headache.
Cops used to arrest illegal aliens. Now they arrest the American citizens who try to stop the criminals.
Give us a break....Por Favor
This reporter probably knew he wasn't but this gives him a way to paint the story the way he wants.
Last time I checked, Maricopa county was quite a ways from the border.
"...The immigrants told deputies Haab threatened to shoot them and asked that charges be pressed against him..."
This is the story I was alluding to in a post yesterday. It's true. Thanks for posting the details. This story made me wonder what happened to the concept of a citizen's arrest.
It's interesting that the immigrants ask that charges be pressed against him. Makes me think they're pretty savvy how the American legal system works.
And what happened to the illegals?
The [illegal] immigrants told deputies Haab threatened to shoot them and asked that charges be pressed against him,
Illegals asking that charges be pressed against American citizens? The freakin' Twilight Zone.
Considering the source, this story could be ......a story.
Yeah before this summers over the price of gasolene will be blamed on the MMP too......wait for it.
Got that right!
Also, this article seems to cast Arpaio as anti-MMP, when that may not be the case at all. I always saw him as one of the good guys, even if he can be a blowhard.
MSM will spin the Minutemen.........presstitutes and their handlers....phucm !
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