Authorities said a man was killed in the shooting and a woman injured after being shot in the stomach. A subsequent investigation by the Office of the Inspector General for the federal Department of Homeland Security could not substantiate the detainees claims. Neely said he had not received any new details about the investigation beyond what has been already reported in the news. did not respond to a request for comment. The facility still holds inmates for the U.S. Related Links: Knapp said one night just after the new year in 2004, Mount and McDonald left for the hotel after watching a movie. Garca grew up near the region where these two shootings occurred this week. Two of Blancas friends who had visited her at the base noted that she had talked about problems with some airman in her classes. For days, relatives of the two migrants have been holding a vigil across the Mexican border in Ciudad Jurez, pleading for a full account of what transpired. The company spokesman, Scott Sutterfield, said the detention center currently did not have I.C.E. But the migrants told investigators that the two men had taunted them in Spanish as they were hiding. The Latino advocacy groups also announced it will ask the U.S. Department of Justice to look into the flights that immigrants rights groups claimed were nothing more than political stunts. A male migrant was fatally shot, a Texas DPS spokesperson said. According to the podcast, Ana Nuez, Carlos Aniceto and Magdalena's own aunt, Lorena Salas, were murdered by a killer. According to its description, it investigates a 2007 serial killer who murdered three people in Sierra Blanca, Tex., "then vanished never to be heard of again. Greg Abbotts hateful rhetoric on immigration. The people shot were part of a group of migrants, according to the FBI. Findings have been reviewed by a diverse team of experts, including specialists in forensics, polygraph, computer investigation, behavioral psychology and forensic pathologyMore than 200 DNA tests have been done.. She felt like this is a good thing. On March 7, 2008, SrA Blanca A. Luna, 27, US Air Force Reserve, was found unresponsive and with injuries consistent with a stab wound in her billeting room at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas three days prior to graduating and heading back home. When two migrants were shot on a roadside in West Texas, the police arrested two suspects: The warden of a troubled private prison, and his brother, a local jail employee. Sutterfield did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Thursday about those previous allegations or Mike Sheppards continued employment after they were made. The status of the criminal case against the brothers remains unclear. Their families were in Ciudad Jurez, across the border from El Paso, this week, demanding justice for the shooting. This was an utter dereliction of ICE's duty to supervise and protect immigrants held in detention, and has allowed Sheppard and others to continue to abuse immigrants with no consequences," the statement read. U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson Landon Hutchens released a statement Friday about the shooting. Six months after her death, no official determination was made as to the manner of death: homicide, suicide, or accident. I held my sisters bones in my hands, no brother should have to endure that, he said. God sees it all and is the ultimate judge and jury. Austin Music Experience | All Austin musicians and artists | KUTX HD2, Texas Music Experience | Listen anytime at tmx.fm | KUTX HD3, Texas Public Radio | In Sierra Blanca you have a 1 A spokesman for the company, which operates more than a dozen detention facilities across Texas, Louisiana and Georgia, said Mr. Sheppard had been fired after his arrest. How do you think Fort Myers Beach should spend its share of $1.1 billion. According to the affidavits filed, They always have problems with the water at the facility.. Greg Abbott. The shooting stunned residents of Sierra Blanca and focused renewed attention on the West Texas Detention Center, a county-owned facility run by a private company, LaSalle Corrections, where Michael Sheppard worked as the warden. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. A new bill would change that, LULAC raises reward amount for info on woman who allegedly lured migrants away from Texas, Hispanic students were once segregated at this school. Mr. Seplveda suffered a fatal gunshot to the head. Mike loves to hunt, the Hudspeth County sheriff, Arvin West, said in an interview at his office, where he displayed an autographed portrait of former president Donald J. Trump. I dont hunt animals. The Times reported that a law enforcement official told the newspaper that Michael Sheppard, the warden at the West Within weeks of meeting, her family said Mount paid for McDonald to travel from Washington to Florida and purchased a hotel room for him in Cape Coral. Two of the men were waving and asking for help while a third, was suffering from a gunshot wound to his face. You dont really know this man. BROKEN BORDER: BIDEN IMMIGRATION POLICIES SPUR 'STAGGERING' DEATH TOLL. The migrants were standing near a water tank along a farm when By James Dobbins,J. David Goodman and Edgar Sandoval. Border Patrol Apprehends Interpol Murder Suspect. The other was fatally struck and died at the scene. Do you value our journalism? We were finishing the meeting when the call came in, he added, speaking of the 911 call about the killing. A stormy morning gives way to a sunny afternoon. Details As of Tuesday, both men were again in custody, this time closer to home at the Hudspeth County jail. Sheppard was specifically accused of punching and kicking a man as he was handcuffed and in solitary confinement, the Intercept reported. And so I gave him my blessings, Mr. Seplveda said in a telephone interview. It was unclear late Thursday what, if any, action federal officials took after the report was released and published in The Intercept. Agents checked cameras and found the vehicle that matched their description and found out the owner is Mike Sheppard, who admitted he's the only person that drives that vehicle, the affidavit says. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Cold Case: Air Force Reservist SrA Blanca Luna Discovered Stabbed to Death in Base Lodging at Sheppard AFB in Texas(2008), Suspicious death: Student airman with stab wound dies in hospital, Texas Air Force Reservist Found Stabbed to Death in Hotel, Indiana Air Force reservist found fatally stabbed in Texas, Indiana Airman found dead at base in Texas, OSI continues to investigate March 7 death, Mother of Murdered Female Airman To Request Meeting on Oct. 3 with Sheppard Air Force Base officials on Status of Investigation, Blanca Lunas mother went to Texas but learned nothing about her daughters death on an air force base, Dead airmans family unhappy about lack of progress in case, Family suspects cover-up in airmans death on base, 5th Anniversary of Unsolved Murder on Sheppard Air Force Base, Find a Grave: Blanca Adriana Luna (1980 2008), Grozinger Law PA criminal attorney orlando fl. Marfa Public Radio. "On Sept. 27, at approximately 9:17 p.m., U.S. Border Patrol Agents from the Sierra Blanca checkpoint received a call for assistance from Hudspeth County Sheriff's Office to help them locate a female gunshot victim after they received a 911 call. The San Antonio Express-News reported that Mike Sheppard was the warden of the West Texas Detention Center, run by the Louisiana-based LaSalle Corrections, a company that operates jails, prisons and immigration detention centers. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. According to the arrest affidavit in the case, authorities believe Mike Shepard, the former prison warden, was the one who shot the migrants. They shot me, Ms. Casias can be heard saying, then adding, They are OK. Its just me and another guy. Official websites use .gov He later told investigators he moved there to be close to where he buried Marys body. The group took cover to avoid being detected when a vehicle approached. Hundreds have drowned in the Rio Grande or perished from extreme heat in failed smuggling attempts. The Sierra Blanca jail houses male and female detainees who are in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Authorities later arrested Erick Garibaldi, 26, of Fort Hancock in connection with the shooting. Blancas momwants answers from military officials, and she wants them to classify Lunas death as a homicide and find the culprit. The warden of a West Texas federal jail for immigrants has been fired after he and a brother allegedly shot at migrants drinking water along a roadside in Hudspeth He shot a woman in the stomach and he basically hit one of the immigrants in the head. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between official ports of entry. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Indiana Airman found dead at base in Texas Javelinas are similar-looking to hogs. More than 10,000 vehicles travel through the Sierra Blanca checkpoint on a daily basis. She said Mom, it will be late, but I will be home.. The brothers, who were charged with manslaughter, were in a truck when they pulled over and shot at a group of migrants, according to DPS. Thus, the pod investigates the "truth" week after week. He was hunting immigrants.". "The division and fear that Greg Abbott and his fellow bigots have created has made Texas a more dangerous place for all Hispanics. "One male immigrant was shot and killed. What possibly could go wrong? By 2021, the detention center no longer housed any migrants for federal authorities, according to inspection records. Here's what we know. The migrants later told federal agents they had heard one of the men shout in Spanish for them to Come out, according to the Times report. The incident is under investigation by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Sheppard AFB security forces squadron. The Sheppard brothers were transferred from the El Paso County Jail on Monday before bonding out of the jail in Hudspeth County later that night. Fiesta crowd to top 2.5 million despite rain canceling SpaceX will be ready for launch in six to eight weeks, Airport-to-downtown tunnel project still on the table, No one is driving this taxi. Sierra Blanca abandoned truck stop was the second scariest place weve stayed. We were speaking Spanish, and Mark said, Dont speak Spanish around me, said Bill Addington, 65, a longtime resident who volunteered at a local food bank where Mr. Sheppard would supervise county inmates on work detail in striped uniforms. Then transferred to AF Reserves. Greg Abbott (R-TX) and Lt. Gov. In a news conference last week, Mr. Abbott called the shooting horrific and completely wrong but blamed President Biden for the spike in arrivals and the need for Texas to deploy National Guard troops to the border and bus thousands of migrants to northern cities. Help us secure our homeland, find out more at. As a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on members to help keep our stories free and our events open to the public. Dead airmans family unhappy about lack of progress in case Ms. Casias, 31, was shot in the stomach and, though seriously wounded, was expected to survive. Sierra Blanca, TX. The sprawling surrounding county, home to some 3,200 Will Republicans really pick the one candidate Biden can beat? Lunas family insists that she would never commit suicide and that the evidence does not support that suggestion. Before leaving for the United States, his son received a small salary caring for farm animals and growing melons in their home of San Martn, several hours south of the border. People have died in our state just based on the color of their skin in El Paso three years ago, and now in our neighboring Hudspeth County. One of the suspects is a warden at a nearby, privately run immigrant detention facility. She was taken to Del Sol Hospital in El Paso. No pictures of her in USAF uniform. Napolen Seplveda Moreno, 56, mourned the death of his son, who he said had hoped to meet up with his brother in Austin, stay a couple of years to make money to support his two young children and then return to Mexico. "The preliminary investigation shows that a truck with two men inside pulled over and shot at a group [of] illegal immigrants standing alongside the road getting water," DPS said in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner. The Sept. 27 killing drew broad condemnation, raising questions about the rule of law in the cactus-studded high plains of West Texas and the real-world impacts of a bitter political divide over how to handle a record number of unauthorized crossings at the southern border. The El Paso District Attorneys Office, which would prosecute the case, said Wednesday police had not yet presented the office with a case to prosecute. Guillermo has been with the Express-News for 20 years, and has covered federal court and its investigative agencies for most of that time. They turned their back on her, said Knapp. PublishedOctober 6, 2022 at 11:10 AM CDT. Was the DNA collected at the scene compared to the national DNA database (CODIS)? The Texas Rangers, the FBI and several other agencies are investigating after two migrants were shot, one fatally, in a rural county outside El Paso, Texas. Did you get him? Mark Sheppard recalled asking his brother, in his statements to investigators, before changing the word him to it, according to the affidavit. WebMigrant survivors of West Texas shooting detained by ICE were drinking water from a reservoir on county land in Sierra Blanca, south of El Paso in the hot, dry Chihuahuan Desert, when two men identified in court documents as the Sheppard brothers pulled over in a truck. The suspects have since claimed they had been out hunting birds and hogs, though statements from witnesses contradicted their claims. It doesnt matter how high the ranking goes. I said now you got a body, what are you going to do?. Find a Grave: Blanca Adriana Luna (1980 2008). Waitresses in town also remembered Mr. Sheppard objecting to hearing Spanish spoken in his presence while eating. I saw them that same night at the water board, nothing out of the ordinary, the sheriff said. Prior to that incident, ICE had investigated how detainees were forced to use plastic bags for toilets and killed a rattlesnake in their sleeping quarters because staff would not take action. This is not the first time Mike Sheppard has been accused of endangering the lives of migrants. They arrived around 7:30 p.m., roughly 30 minutes after the shooting. Family suspects cover-up in airmans death on base Violent crimes in Sierra Blanca are 73% higher than the national average. Abbott has waged a battle against Bidens border policy and Mexican cartels since early 2021. Weve gone from you see a few a week to hundreds crossing property it is like nothing anyone has ever seen, she said. At 28 years old, her mother said she still only stood about four-foot-eight-inches tall. A family is mourning their 12-year-old who was hit by a car and killed while crossing an intersection in Lee County on Friday. by Alejandro Serrano, Uriel J. Garca and William Melhado All rights reserved. Michael Sheppard fired two shots with a shotgun, according to the affidavits. "Definitely an intriguing and creepy plot. The Murder of Military Women Continues One of the places severely damaged by Hurricane Ian was Fort Myers Beach, and seven months later, theres still more to do, but theyve come a long way. but later changed "him" to "it". Neely said he didnt know Mike Sheppard well, though he had attended multiple meetings with him about a local water shortage that has at times affected the prison. Thats not going to bring my boy back to life. When they looked to see if the vehicle had driven away, they heard the two gunshots. The Texas Department of Public Safety, which is leading the investigation, would not answer further questions about the shooting. @upandvanished I am sorta annoyed that you all promoted "The Heads of Sierra Blanca" without stating it is fiction. She was taken to a local hospital in Wichita Falls where she died shortly thereafter. One of the alleged shooters is reportedly a warden for a privately run immigration detention center. CBP is charged with securing the borders of the United States while enforcing hundreds of laws and facilitating lawful trade and travel. Texas Air Force Reservist Found Stabbed to Death in Hotel detainees. The brothers reportedly told law enforcement they were looking for animals to shoot. Knapp said she misses her daughters company, especially around the holidays, which is when Mount went missing in 2004. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. SIERRA BLANCA, Texas Jess Ivn Seplveda Martnez started his fateful journey to find work in the United States in his fathers car before catching a bus from Ceballos, Mexico, to the border. She said initially she struggled to get the Lee County Sheriffs Office to open a missing persons case because Mount was an adult. As this is an active and ongoing investigation by the Texas Rangers, DPS said. The two suspects were taken into custody and each charged with manslaughter on Thursday, the spokesperson added. A grieving family is remembering their young boy as a ball of energy. He was released with time served. Multiple media outlets have identified the man who died as 22-year-old Jess Ivn Seplveda and the injured woman as Berenice Casias Carrillo. Some people in town have expressed shock, saying the brothers had never displayed any sort of racial animus. She was in the Marines. The sprawling surrounding county, home to some 3,200 people, is more than three-quarters Hispanic. Abbott's press secretary, Renae Eze, provided a statement to ABC News: "This shooting was a terrible tragedy, and violence of any kind will not be tolerated in Texas. Sierra Blanca Border Patrol agents encountered an individual by the name of Marouana Bah, a 30-year-old citizen of France, while conducting immigration inspections on board a passenger bus at the Sierra Blanca Immigration Checkpoint. My gut feeling is they are looking for a culprit outside of the base, but the murderer is on the base. 'The Heads of Sierra Blanca': True Story or Fiction? On Sept. 29, two suspects were taken into custody and charged with manslaughter. Its been over a decade since the man who was last seen with Her younger brother, Steve, described her as being in a very vulnerable state when she met McDonald in a chatroom for a fantasy adventure game. My condolences to the family. Around sunset, two men in a pickup truck drove by, and the migrants took cover in the brush. Cracking down on antisemitic acts in Florida, all the way from Isreal, after a new law protects people by hardening punishment for antisemitism. The men initially stated they had been looking for ducks and pivoted to searching for birds before finally looking for javelinas. Around Sierra Blanca, the detention center was known as a good job, paying more than double what was offered at the local jail. Tornado touchdown confirmed in Charlotte County, 16-year-old suspect arrested in Florida after killings of 3 teens, Family of 12-year-old hit and killed by car hope his death sparks change, Family mourning 12-year-old killed after being hit by car in Lee County, 17-year-old suspect arrested after Lehigh Acres shooting, Law stopping hate acts signed by DeSantis, Uber and Lyft drivers demanding change to make ends meet, Former employee accused of breaking into and stealing money from Naples store, Fort Myers Beach recovery efforts seven months after Hurricane Ian. At 2:00 AM on March 14, 2007, an assailant broke into her home, drugged her, and This is wrong, wrong, wrong.. Indiana Air Force reservist found fatally stabbed in Texas Marshals, county records showed. Mounts family feels every year that goes by is another year that someone got away with murder. One person was struck in the head and killed. The Sierra Blanca Station area of responsibility consists of more than half of Hudspeth County or about 2,500 square miles. The fatal confrontation took place on Tuesday night near the town of Sierra Blanca in west Texas. Thomas Neeley, the top elected official in Hudspeth County, told Marfa Public Radio that Mark Sheppard has been an employee at the county jail, though his employment status remains unclear. A male migrant was hit in the head and died, and a female was wounded in the stomach and taken to an El Paso hospital, DPS said. WebCrime rate in Weslaco, Texas (TX): murders, rapes, robberies, assaults, burglaries, thefts, auto thefts, arson, law enforcement employees, police officers, crime map. My son did not deserve to die this way, he said. The group hid when a truck approached. What inflamed the already combustible situation was that the men charged with the shooting were familiar local fixtures: Michael Sheppard, the warden of a deeply troubled private prison in town who works closely with the sheriff, and his twin brother Mark Sheppard, an employee at the county jail that the sheriff runs. He has also covered immigration, minority affairs and legal affairs as part of the projects team here and for other print, TV and radio outlets. Court records, however, did not show either of the men had been formally charged as of Thursday afternoon with a crime. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribunes journalism. Who turned off the cameras? She was a Marine from 1997 to 2002 and then became a Reservist in 2007 at the 434rd Civil Engineer Squadron, Grissom Air Reserve Base in Indiana. Keep reading to find out. U.S. Border Patrol aided the search for the shooter. No suspects were ever identified. For local and breaking news, sports, weather alerts, video and more, download the FREE KTSM 9 News App from theApple App Storeor theGoogle Play Store. Sierra Blanca is an hours drive east of El Paso, along Interstate 10.
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