Posted on 09/17/2004 7:22:58 PM PDT by Marine Inspector
DOUGLAS - A man who believed in armed patrols of the border was arrested Wednesday night, and another man, described as his bodyguard, was wounded by an FBI agent.
As FBI agents were in the process of arresting Casey James Nethercott in the parking lot of the Safeway store in Douglas, Kalen Robert Riddle was shot.
The incident took place around 11:15 p.m. Charlene Thornton, special agent in charge of the FBI's Phoenix office, said both men engage in threatening activities as an arrest warrant was served.
"Actions taken by Nethercott and Riddle led one of the FBI agents to fire his weapon," Thornton was quoted as saying in an agency press release.
For Douglas Mayor Ray Borane, Nethercott's arrest and the wounding of one of his lieutenants hopefully will bring an end to such groups using the community as a point of hatred.
Nethercott's property searched
On Thursday, the FBI searched property occupied by Nethercott and others, reportedly former members of Ranch Rescue, a group that sees its mission as patrolling the border with Mexico to stop the flow of illegal immigrants.
Recent reports have stated that Ranch Rescue was falling apart due to internal dissension, and the number of supporters fell from 60 to less than a half dozen.
Phoenix FBI spokeswoman Susan Herskovits said the FBI began searching the property around 2:30 p.m.
As the operation was under way, a U.S. Border Patrol helicopter circled and hovered over the compound, not far from the international boundary and the U.S. Border Patrol's Douglas Station.
Area residents were kept out of the area, and members of the media were moved two times.
Cochise County sheriff's deputies and U.S. Border Patrol agents provided perimeter control during the property search.
Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever said he did not have much information about the search warrant, but said he was told it was to look for weapons.
Herskovits would not say what the search warrant entailed.
Complaint led to arrest
Nethercott's arrest warrant came about because of an incident involving him, Riddle and three U.S. Border Patrol agents on Aug. 31.
According to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court of Arizona on Sept. 8, the three federal agents attempted to pull Nethercott over, but he refused to stop.
The agents followed him in three separate marked patrol cars to his compound west of the Douglas city limits.
"The Border Patrol agents were aware that members of Ranch Rescue were heavily armed and generally hostile to federal law enforcement officers," the complaint states.
After Nethercott entered the compound, agents saw an armed person inside the gate. That person was later identified as Riddle.
The three agents stopped outside the gate.
Nethercott got out of his vehicle and started yelling at the agents, while at the same time giving orders to Riddle.
Nethercott also used a radio or cell phone to apparently give orders to others who couldn't be seen.
One of the agents drew his weapon and directed Riddle to show his hands. Nethercott reportedly told Riddle to ignore the agent, saying he tells Riddle what to do.
The confrontation grew more heated with Nethercott allegedly yelling, "F--- this, I'm going to take care of this myself, we're going to have a shootout."
The agents took cover behind their vehicles. Riddle eventually was ordered to lay on the ground, which he did, even though Nethercott allegedly directed him not to obey.
Other agents arrived, including two having night-vision equipment. Those agents, along with an operator of a night vision camera, reported other individuals were concealed behind brush and a vehicle and one of them also might have watched agents through night-vision equipment.
Arrest confrontation Wednesday
Because of the threat to the federal agent, an arrest warrant was issued. The FBI was trying to serve the document on Nethercott Wednesday night.
Nethercott was taken into custody, unwounded, after Riddle was shot. Nethercott was taken to the Cochise County Jail in Bisbee and held until Thursday, when around 10 a.m. he was moved to a federal confinement facility.
Riddle was initially treated at a Douglas hospital. He was then airlifted to a hospital in Tucson, where as of press time he was listed in critical condition.
Riddle, 22, was a supporter of Nethercott, 37, and his activities.
Group headed for trouble
Borane said he predicted the actions of some members of what he claimed is a vigilante group were to going to end badly.
"They were headed for trouble," the Douglas mayor said.
There was some fear in the community, so much so Borane said it was important for the Douglas City Council to adopt of resolution against any vigilante group from setting up in or near the community.
On Nov. 19, 2002, the council adopted a resolution opposing militia and vigilantism along the border against illegal immigrants.
The bottom line of the resolution was to "vehemently oppose the creation, operations and support of armed militia and vigilantes and regard these groups are utterly contrary to the spirit and nature of the Douglas community of which the majority recognizes the need to reform our national's immigration policy requiring action in the political, diplomatic and administrative reform."
The vigilante-like militias were operating under the guise of protecting the border, when in reality they were violating the laws of the country, the mayor said.
Phoenix man is surprised
Clay Douglas was surprised when he traveled to Douglas from Phoenix on Thursday.
Douglas was stopped by a barricade of U.S. Border Patrol vehicles from going down to Nethercott's compound.
It wasn't until he arrived at the road that serves as a connector entrance to the compound and the Douglas Station that he was informed of Nethercott's arrest.
"He called me yesterday (on Wednesday)," Douglas said. "I don't know what he wanted to talk about, but he wanted to meet me."
Douglas, who publishes Thunder Rider News and Free America and who has a talk show in the Phoenix area, said he has never met Nethercott but has spoken to him and has had the man as a guest on his talk show.
While Nethercott's message doesn't completely meet with Douglas' approval, he said he believes the United Sates is becoming a police state and people such as Nethercott are looking for ways to express their First and Second amendment rights.
Borane disagreed, saying Nethercott and his followers have been confrontational against people and groups who disagreed with him, to include the Mexican Army, from the beginning.
Nethercott could have started a major border battle, the mayor said.
Like Borane, Dever has always been wary of groups like Nethercott's.
"They make more trouble for law enforcement," the sheriff said.
HERALD/REVIEW senior reporter Bill Hess can be reached at 515-4615 or by e-mail at bill.hess@svherald.com.
ping
"Damned cops, shot me in the Douglas!!" (Douglas Johnson perhaps?)
there's helicopters and bunches of Feds to catch this US CITIZEN in a convenience store parking lot.... but not enough agents or resources to protect our border... hmmmm
Sounds like the Wild West
There's something wrong with this whole picture. The federal government is incapable of effectively policing the border, and those who would and the local citizenry can't seem to get together and regulate the local efforts well. Glad it wasn't this way at our founding.
That's pretty much what happened near Baltimore a couple of years back when a trigger-happy "fibbie" decided to shoot an Eagle Scout in the jaw ~ he'd obeyed the "fibbie"'s orders.
This is getting to be a pattern with these people. Makes me suspect we are dealing with the very same guy out in Arizona that we had in Maryland. You can go back two days to my very first post on this story and see that I called this one exactly.
Now, if the FBI changes it's story..... well, no one expects them to do that, eh?!
Where's John Ashcroft when we really need him anyway?
Borane disagreed, saying Nethercott and his followers have been confrontational against people and groups who disagreed with him, to include the Mexican Army, from the beginning.
Evidently, anyone who is confrontational isn't looking for a way to express his First or Second amendment rights.
"Where's John Ashcroft when we really need him anyway?"
Nowhere near our open borders, that's for damn sure!
~sigh~
Government hypocrisy is amazing.
After all, the government knows what is best to protect the children from evil people with guns who are radical enough to believe in that damned inconvenient document called the Constition and a nasty concept called sovereignty.
In any case, if I'm confused it derives totally from the inability of that reporter to get a straight story out of the FBI, as well as the FBI attempting to cover up something very, very important here.
I strongly suspect the shooter had been involved in another notorious case, and here he is again, messing up.
Makes you wonder if his supervisor uses controlled substances.
To the Feds, if you're unconfrontational, you have no interest in speaking out in a manner that displeases the crew that has hijacked this country, and you have no interest in gun ownership.
Keep quiet and abhor guns, and you're OK --see?
You might want to read the article again. He was not lying on the ground when he was shot.
The time he did lay on the ground, as ordered, was during the confrontation with the border patrol, which leads up to the arrest warrant being issued.
I called this one exactly
Sorry, you didn’t get it right.
That's a pretty accurate statement.
Again, I strongly suspect we have an agent here who was previously involved in this sort of thing and he's acted out again.
Remember, there was no warrant issued for Riddle. Riddle got shot. The perpetrator DID NOT get shot!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.