News (Media Awareness Project) - US AZ: Agent Slays Pot Smuggler |
| Title: | US AZ: Agent Slays Pot Smuggler |
| Published On: | 2000-03-24 |
| Source: | Arizona Daily Star (AZ) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-09-04 23:45:35 |
AGENT SLAYS POT SMUGGLER
A Border Patrol agent shot and killed a suspected marijuana smuggler
yesterday on the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation, agency spokesman
Rob Daniels said.
About 9 a.m., the agent began following a pickup on Federal Route 34,
about 40 miles northwest of Sells. Pulling off that paved road, the
pickup drove about 100 yards into the desert, losing bales of
marijuana from the bed, then stopped, said Daniels and Tohono O'odham
police chief Larry Seligman.
The two men in the truck ran off, but the agent caught one of them,
Daniels said. A struggle ensued, and the agent shot the man.
Neither the agent's identity nor the victim's identity were available
last night. The agent involved in the shooting was placed on paid
leave pending an FBI investigation.
Officers and agents of the Tohono O'odham police, the U.S. Customs
Service, the Border Patrol and the FBI searched for the second man.
"It's my belief he's not particularly dangerous. He's just interested
in avoiding capture," Seligman said.
The shooting occurred during a time of accelerating marijuana traffic
and continued danger of gunfire during drug-load stops. Last year,
Tohono O'odham officers were seizing an average of about 2,000 pounds
per month.
But that average has increased by about 1,000 pounds, he
said.
Around 75 percent of the smugglers arrested by the department have
been Mexican nationals, Seligman said. Most of the rest are Tohono
O'odham, he said.
Daniels said he did not know the nationality of the deceased
man.
The last fatal shooting by a Southern Arizona Border Patrol agent took
place Nov. 23, when agent Daniel Hann killed alleged marijuana
smuggler David Maldonado Quijada. Agents said Maldonado had abandoned
a van full of marijuana when he fled into a canyon east of Nogales.
Agent Ronald Bellavia caught up to Maldonado but the two began
struggling, the agents said. Maldonado was about to strike Bellavia
with a large rock when Hann shot him, the agents said. County and
federal officials declined to file any charges against Hann.
A Border Patrol agent shot and killed a suspected marijuana smuggler
yesterday on the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation, agency spokesman
Rob Daniels said.
About 9 a.m., the agent began following a pickup on Federal Route 34,
about 40 miles northwest of Sells. Pulling off that paved road, the
pickup drove about 100 yards into the desert, losing bales of
marijuana from the bed, then stopped, said Daniels and Tohono O'odham
police chief Larry Seligman.
The two men in the truck ran off, but the agent caught one of them,
Daniels said. A struggle ensued, and the agent shot the man.
Neither the agent's identity nor the victim's identity were available
last night. The agent involved in the shooting was placed on paid
leave pending an FBI investigation.
Officers and agents of the Tohono O'odham police, the U.S. Customs
Service, the Border Patrol and the FBI searched for the second man.
"It's my belief he's not particularly dangerous. He's just interested
in avoiding capture," Seligman said.
The shooting occurred during a time of accelerating marijuana traffic
and continued danger of gunfire during drug-load stops. Last year,
Tohono O'odham officers were seizing an average of about 2,000 pounds
per month.
But that average has increased by about 1,000 pounds, he
said.
Around 75 percent of the smugglers arrested by the department have
been Mexican nationals, Seligman said. Most of the rest are Tohono
O'odham, he said.
Daniels said he did not know the nationality of the deceased
man.
The last fatal shooting by a Southern Arizona Border Patrol agent took
place Nov. 23, when agent Daniel Hann killed alleged marijuana
smuggler David Maldonado Quijada. Agents said Maldonado had abandoned
a van full of marijuana when he fled into a canyon east of Nogales.
Agent Ronald Bellavia caught up to Maldonado but the two began
struggling, the agents said. Maldonado was about to strike Bellavia
with a large rock when Hann shot him, the agents said. County and
federal officials declined to file any charges against Hann.
Member Comments |
No member comments available...
