Posted on 01/06/2008 6:53:03 AM PST by SwinneySwitch
An off-duty Border Patrol agent shot two men after he caught them burglarizing his vehicle early Saturday morning, he told police.Gilbert Sanchez, 18, was grazed by a bullet and treated by paramedics, then arrested, said Officer Ernesto Elizondo, a spokesman for the Laredo Police Department.
Another man, whose name was not released because he had not been arrested, was taken to Doctors Hospital with bullet wounds to his back and right arm, said Eloy Vega, a spokesman for the Laredo Fire Department.
The injuries did not appear to be life threatening, and the man remained conscious throughout the incident, Vega said.
Police also arrested Jose Sanchez, 18, and Leonardo Estrada, 17, and detained a juvenile, Elizondo said.
It happened at the Quail Creek Apartments, at 2023 Quail Creek Road, Elizondo said.
The agent, whose name was not released, told police that he awoke to the sound of suspicious activity outside his apartment at about 4:30 a.m. Saturday.
Another person in the apartment called police, while the agent took a gun outside and confronted the group, Elizondo said. When the agent went outside, four men were inside their own car, and a juvenile was out of the car, Elizondo said. The juvenile fled on foot, but the agent held the other men at gunpoint and told them to stay there until police arrived, Elizondo said.
Elizondo said his understanding, based on initial reports, was that one of the men started the car, and the agent feared he would be hit or run over by the vehicle. The agent fired four shots, Elizondo said.
It was not immediately clear where the agent stood in relation to the car, Elizondo said.
Police later searched the neighborhood, and found and detained a juvenile who they believe was involved in the burglary, Elizondo said.
The men who were arrested face charges of aggravated assault, which is a second-degree felony; engaging in organized criminal activity, which is a state jail felony; burglary of a vehicle, which is a Class A misdemeanor; and theft, which is a Class B misdemeanor, Elizondo said.
State law allows people to use deadly force if their lives are threatened or in defense of their homes. A change that took effect in September 2007 expanded that law to allow Texans to use deadly force to protect their place of business or vehicle.
Investigators with the Laredo Police Department are working to determine if the agent was justified in firing the shots, Elizondo said.
Border Patrol officials did not know whether the agent used his Border Patrol-issued firearm or a different weapon, said Greg Salinas, a Border Patrol spokesman.
The agent will be required to give up his agency-issued weapon until the conclusion of the investigation, Salinas said.
(Reporter Zachary Franz may be reached at 728-2582 or by e-mail at zfranz@lmtonline.com)
Amazing!
Hmm, window of opportunity to kill the only witness. Hope he has more guns of his own.
BP Ping!
If you want on, or off this S. Texas/Mexico ping list, please FReepMail me.
“Investigators with the Laredo Police Department are working to determine if the agent was justified in firing the shots”
This is absolutely ridiculous. These guys are burglarizing the agent’s vehicle. Texas law recognizes a person’s right to defend life and property. What’s to determine? Seems like a waste of government resources to investigate this one to death. Go out and catch some more perps...
The sad truth is that this agent is going to be fighting an uphill battle to try and prove that everyone he shot was endangering his life. If the crooks were in their car his vehicle was no longer in danger and you’re dealing with a property crime. He’s going to have to prove that he is proficient with the handgun he used and will probably get sued for shooting anyone other than the driver that was threatening his life with the vehicle.
.....This is absolutely ridiculous.....
No, it is the only way to exonerate the agent. Absent an investigation he will be destroyed.
Please , please don’t tell Buuush.
or Johnny Sutton......
If the cops don’t investigate this to the nth degree it will be called a whitewash and/or a coverup. The agent will never be cleared, he will more likely be sued and lose, and the LPD will be trashed.
Sounds to me like this agent needs a bit more range time, and perhaps a more effective caliber...
God bless his soul. He will be crucified. Sounds like it was justified to conservative standards but he will rot in liberal hell.
Wait ‘till Johnny Sutton gets hold of this ......
I guess 4-to-1 odds confronting those involved in a crime is not justification when someone starts a vehicle, which can be used as a deadly weapon. As soon as Johnny Sutton finds about this the agent will be branded a racist and crucified.
I'm sure there are several cops in the area headed that way with an extra if he needs one.
Laredo is in the U S District Court Southern region of Texas. Sutton is in the Western region.
Well, disconnect his phones and faxes so he doesn’t influence the federal prosecutors..... : )
It's Texas, if he doesn't have one, which is very doubtful, he could have gotten one latter Saturday afternoon, and possibly today at some places. A quick search on Yahoo yellow pages shows 12 places to buy guns in Laredo. And that doesn't count WalMart, which doesn't sell handguns, but does sell shotguns and rifles. It also doesn't count Academy Sports, which does sell handguns.
He'll not have any problem rearming.
He doesn't need to prove it. He was acting as a private citizen, not as a federal border agent. In Texas you don't need to be in fear for your life, you can use deadly force to defend property. As an added bonus, this was during the nighttime, when you can use deadly force to defend against simple theft and criminal mischief, as well as the other property crimes for which deadly force is allowed all the time, burglary, arson, robbery and aggravated robbery. SECTION 9.41. PROTECTION OF ONE'S OWN PROPERTY
Yep...as a former LEO, I fully understand the need, I just don’t care for the PC crap that makes it necessary.
Don’t worry. Bush will but the border guard in prison.
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