sierra blanca, texas murders

It was unclear late Thursday what, if any, action federal officials took after the report was released and published in The Intercept. The migrants (kcbd.com) Copyright 2023 Fort Myers Broadcasting. In 2007, a serial killer inspired by Rube Goldberg murdered Lorena Salas, Carlos Aniceto, and Ana Nuez in Sierra Blanca, Texas then vanished never to be heard of again. He claimed he and the Lee County Sheriffs Office is actively working on the case, but would not comment on any timeframe for when there would be an arrest. 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. Blanca Lunas mother went to Texas but learned nothing about her daughters death on an air force base 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. That is a hellhole place, said Gregory Johnson, a former assistant warden at a different LaSalle prison in Texas, describing the West Texas Detention Center. CBP is charged with securing the borders of the United States while enforcing hundreds of laws and facilitating lawful trade and travel. The affidavit says he also told agents he asked Mike Sheppard "did you get him?" She said initially she struggled to get the Lee County Sheriffs Office to open a missing persons case because Mount was an adult. 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.. One migrant was struck in the stomach and transported to a hospital. Multiple media outlets have identified the man who died as 22-year-old Jess Ivn Seplveda and the injured woman as Berenice Casias Carrillo. Sierra Blanca Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. 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. She was in the Marines. If the Butlers had known that five people have recently disappeared from the Texas Air Force Reservist Found Stabbed to Death in Hotel "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. 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. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribunes journalism. CreditIvan Pierre Aguirre for The New York Times. Hudspeth County officials said they found more than 15 bodies of migrants in the desert last year, an increase from two or three a year in previous years. 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. PublishedOctober 6, 2022 at 11:10 AM CDT. The guy died. 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. In a detailed voluntary statement, McDonald said he wanted to make clear he did not murder Mount. The affidavit says migrants told federal agents they overheard one of the men yell in Spanish something to the effect of "Come out you sons of b----s, little a--s!" He later told investigators he moved there to be close to where he buried Marys body. Until his arrest, Mike Sheppard was the warden at the West Texas Detention Center, a nearby federal prison run by the company LaSalle Corrections which used to house detained migrants for the federal government and has been the subject of serious abuse allegations in recent years. Sierra Blanca I have a Mexican-Native American background, but Mike was never ugly to me, said Paula Barrios, 39, who lived near the two brothers. DPS is also investigating a second shooting incident involving a migrant in Hudspeth County that happened on Wednesday. The first thing that entered my mind was that anyone who held a position that he did shouldve known better, he said. There was also the fact that Magdalena had never put out a podcast before that raised some brows among seasoned true crime fans. ABC News has confirmed that one of the men arrested was Mike Sheppard, a former warden at West Texas Detention Center. Theyre [Air Force] treating me like dirt. The Texas Department of Public Safety, which is leading the investigation, would not answer further questions about the shooting. A K-9 unit sits outside the Hudspeth County Sheriffs Office in 2010. In his interviews with investigators, Mark Sheppard said he and his brother had been out looking to shoot animals and thought they had spotted some javelinas, similar to wild hogs. "We sounded the alarm in 2018 about Warden Sheppard, but ICE failed to address his egregious behavior and the inhumane and racist treatment of African migrants in the facility. 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. Mexican families demand justice for Sierra Blanca shooting victims The facility operated by the for-profit prison company LaSalle Corrections held immigrants for ICE up until October 2019. The migrants, who had stopped for a drink of water at a reservoir, told investigators that one of the men yelled obscenities at them and revved the trucks engine before opening fire, according to an arrest affidavit. 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A spokesman for I.C.E. His brother stopped the truck and used his shotgun to fire two rounds toward what he thought was an animal. Although the warrant detailed Mary as a missing person who had not been seen or heard from by family and friends, none of this information was permitted into evidence at trial. Former warden and brother arrested for allegedly shooting 2 Migrant killed, other injured in shooting in Hudspeth Michael Sheppard worked as the warden at the West Texas Detention Center, a privately run detention center, until he was fired following his arrest last week. Help us secure our homeland, find out more at cbp.gov/careers. SIERRA BLANCA - A Hudspeth County jury found Terlingua man Tony Flint not guilty of all charges Tuesday night, following three and a half hours of deliberation, Later, the murder was blamed on cartels and turf wars, but Magdalena wasn't buying that coverup story. We can continue investigating where is Mary Mount, said Dan Feinberg, the current prosecutor on Mounts murder. The sprawling county, home to some 3,200 people, is more than three-quarters Hispanic, and spreads over an area nearly the size of Connecticut. The Hudspeth County Clerks office said Monday afternoon it still had not received any documents and had no case against the brothers formally docketed. It's unclear if the two incidents are related. Migrants shot in West Texas: A former prison warden and his At AFOSIs request, the FBI sent an evidence response team to process the scene immediately after Airman Luna was found, and the two agencies have continued to cooperate in the investigation. The truck drove toward the group and then backed up before at least one man got out. Court records, however, did not show either of the men had been formally charged as of Thursday afternoon with a crime. She told me, you know mom, I really appreciated the fact that you treated me like every other kid and you didnt baby me, Knapp recalled about a conversation with her daughter. Two of Blancas friends who had visited her at the base noted that she had talked about problems with some airman in her classes. Authorities said a man was killed in the shooting and a woman injured after being shot in the stomach. home found his body buried underneath a camper top in his backyard. He told agents Mike Sheppard fired two rounds from a shotgun. This is an ongoing investigation by the Texas Rangers and FBI and no further information is available at this time. They were then rearrested the following day, Deputy Salgado said, after the Texas Rangers issued a warrant on new charges related to the shooting: aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Knapp said she misses her daughters company, especially around the holidays, which is when Mount went missing in 2004. A stormy morning gives way to a sunny afternoon. Anna Giaritelli, Homeland Security Reporter, Freedom House undermines mission by downplaying genocide and terror. The mission of BorderReport.com is to provide real-time delivery of the untold local stories about people living, working and migrating along the U.S. border with Mexico. The "in respect of the victims" in the podcast notes. "I like the true crime podcasts that are attempting to help people find answers; this podcast is not that," one listener wrote in the Pod Paradise reviews, noting that the podcast should not be classified under the true crime genre. Big Bend Sector Border Patrol agents, patrol 517 miles of the southwest border, an area that extends from Sierra Blanca, Texas to Sanderson, Texas. Gov. UVALDE ROCKED BY HORRIFIC FATAL CRASH INVOLVING IMMIGRANT SMUGGLER. But I dont want other people to suffer the way that we are suffering.. Mounts family thought the State Attorney would charge McDonald with murder given the abundance of evidence and his conviction in Texas. Click Share This Page button to display social media links. 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. The Intercept reported the allegations more than four years ago. U.S. Border Patrol aided the search for the shooter. A truck with two men inside pulled over and shot at a group of migrants getting water along a road near the town of Sierra Blanca on Tuesday, according to the statement. The Texas Democratic Party and the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus on Thursday issued rebukes of the incident, and called for immigration reform instead of rhetoric that encourages violence against migrants. They shot me, Ms. Casias can be heard saying, then adding, They are OK. Its just me and another guy. The detainees, mostly men from Somalia who were in the process of being deported, told the researchers that they had been mistreated by staff members, including the warden. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? The group came out of the brush, they said, because they thought the truck had driven away. Mike Sheppard was identified by the News-Express as the warden of the West Texas Detention Center, which is operated by LaSalle Corrections, a private company that is contracted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to run immigration jails nationwide. This is just another example of how President Biden's open border policies continue endangering lives. SIERRA BLANCA, Texas U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Sierra Blanca Border Patrol Station There's just a little bit of tumbleweeds and things like that. This is a case with a lot of circumstantial evidence, that we hope to be able to sure up and charge him if he is in fact the killer, said Feinberg. Keep reading to find out. A female immigrant was also shot and is now recovering at Del Sol hospital in El Paso.". The killing has prompted outrage among immigrant rights groups, with some tying the shooting to what theyve described as dangerous anti-immigrant political rhetoric. If Greg Abbott really cared about public safety, he would immediately condemn these actions and the violent actions of all vigilantes.. Murder on the Base? Death on the Border: Were Twin Brothers Hunting Migrants or Texas Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro called the shooting On Sept. 29, two suspects were taken into custody and charged with manslaughter. Then transferred to AF Reserves. Now it will be a historic site, Another National Guard soldier working Operation Lone Star dies by suspected suicide, Immigration, guns and abortion dominate Abbott, ORourke debate in the Rio Grande Valley, Why theres no invasion happening on the U.S.-Mexico border, Border sheriffs coalition says 'time will tell' if Abbotts terrorist designation bears fruit, Migrant deaths at the U.S.-Mexico border hit a record high, in part due to drownings, Migrants flown from Texas to Massachusetts sue Florida Gov. The podcast, which came out in September of 2019 is described as "an immersive experience that combines fiction, true crime and real interviews" but it seems like the fiction portion takes the cake. Migrant shot and killed, another wounded in rural Sierra Blanca They arrived around 7:30 p.m., roughly 30 minutes after the shooting. According to AFOSI, theFBI assistedwith the investigation. The affidavit says Mike Sheppard "was reluctant to speak" about the incident and left. Claim: Sen. Bernie Sanders once supported a proposal to "dump nuclear waste" in the "poor Latino community" of Sierra Blanca, Texas. He said he went to Knapps home and stole several things before fleeing the state, buying a shovel along the way and ultimately burying Mount in Sierra Blanca. Knapp said she was told by the prosecutor at the time that because her daughters body had not been recovered, there werent more serious charges that could be pursued. 5th Anniversary of Unsolved Murder on Sheppard Air Force Base It was higher than in 83.3% U.S. cities. Death on the Border: Were Twin Brothers Hunting Migrants or Wildlife? Copyright 2022 Texas Public Radio. When they looked to see if the vehicle had driven away, they heard the two gunshots. While awaiting trial, Lee County detectives came to Texas to question him once again about Mount. contract had been ended because of the water issues, which stemmed from a problem obtaining adequate supply from a nearby town. Sierra Blanca is an hours drive east of El Paso, along Interstate 10. WebCrime rate in Weslaco, Texas (TX): murders, rapes, robberies, assaults, burglaries, thefts, auto thefts, arson, law enforcement employees, police officers, crime map. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent. They turned their back on her, said Knapp. Big fan of the pod, give me a warning next time, I want that time back! As this is an active and ongoing investigation by the Texas Rangers, DPS said. Calls for Gov. The Murder of Military Women Continues They were identified as Mike Thomas Sheppard and Mark Edward Sheppard, both 60. Scott Sutterfield, a spokesman for Louisiana-based LaSalle Corrections, confirmed via email that Sheppard no longer worked for the company. The fatal confrontation took place on Tuesday night near the town of Sierra Blanca in west Texas. 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. Waitresses in town also remembered Mr. Sheppard objecting to hearing Spanish spoken in his presence while eating. 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. 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. Updated: 10 PM Central. The AFOSI referred to the death as a homicide in the media in the early stages of the investigation. My condolences to the family. Was the DNA collected at the scene compared to the national DNA database (CODIS)? I said were not talking about you man, and we can talk Spanish all we damn well want., Neely said he had never heard or had any indication that they were terribly racist type people or anything like that.. One man was killed and a woman was injured. 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. I hope and pray justice will prevail. Over a week, the men faced beatings, racial taunts and sexual abuse at the hands of the centers officials who were under the leadership of Mike Sheppard at the time. Greg Abbott to declare an invasion misread the Constitution and the facts on the ground, says the director of UT Laws Immigration Clinic. She was an Air Force Reservist on temporary duty at Sheppard AFB attending a technical training course for Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC). I saw them that same night at the water board, nothing out of the ordinary, the sheriff said. The FBI El Paso field office said in a statement the shooting happened in the evening of Sept. 27 in Sierra Blanca, Texas. The warden and his staff were accused of beating migrants and yelling racial slurs in that 2018 report. He did not address Sheppards alleged use of the company truck. All so gross. A spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, which includes the Texas Rangers, said the brothers were in a truck on FM 1111, about 4 miles south of Sierra Blanca, when they pulled over and the pair got out and allegedly fired at least two shots at four migrants. The water reservoir where two migrants were shot, one fatally, near Sierra Blanca, Texas, last month. Sheppard was specifically accused of punching and kicking a man as he was handcuffed and in solitary confinement, the Intercept reported. In late 2005, Andrades family had not heard from him and when they showed up at his. The group hid when a truck approached. A spokesperson for the facility would not confirm the name, but said the warden there had been terminated "due to an off-duty incident unrelated to his employment." At 28 years old, her mother said she still only stood about four-foot-eight-inches tall. Indiana Airman found dead at base in Texas Knapp said that was the last time she saw her daughter. I am not aware of any message boards regarding this topic. "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. She was living in the Chicago, Illinois area and studying Graphic Design. It was a murder, and it was a hate crime.. by Alejandro Serrano, Uriel J. Garca and William Melhado 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. The Sheppard brothers, both 60, were taken into custody late last month, and charged with manslaughter. No pictures of her in USAF uniform. The 22-year-old soon slipped into Texas and, with a group of about a dozen migrants, began traversing the parched landscape east of El Paso on foot. I can start a new life, a new future with somebody and this guy he fit the bill, said Steve Knapp. A 2018 report found officials at the Sierra Blanca facility had grievously abused 80 men who were detained at the center. 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. "Given that podcasts are used for all kinds of content both fiction and non-fiction, I think the creators need to be open about what they're making," a redditor noted. Texas men accused of manslaughter in migrant shooting 12-year-old Lucas Roulston loved to be outside and had a huge smile. Were talking Spanish, and he yells at us not to speak Spanish in front of him, like were talking about him or something, he said. Feinberg said McDonald is their suspect but the decomposed remains and the various jurisdictions across many states create difficulties in the case. In October 2008, Gloria Barrios traveled to Texas from Chicago to get some answers, including the autopsy report, from the Air Force but she didnt get anything except a tour of the base. The migrants were standing near a water tank along a farm when Violent crimes in Sierra Blanca are 73% higher than the national average. What possibly could go wrong? As a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on members to help keep our stories free and our events open to the public. 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. "The division and fear that Greg Abbott and his fellow bigots have created has made Texas a more dangerous place for all Hispanics. She was discovered with a knife in the back of her neck according to the death certificate and no pants or underwear and dried fluid near her groin according to the autopsy. 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 AFOSI has been the lead investigative agency since Airman Lunas death. Bah was processed according to the applicable immigration laws. 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 A lock ( Our Town: Gloria Barrios But he did admit that Mary died after they had sex and that he freaked out and stuffed her body into a duffle bag and put her in the trunk of her car. One cannot get onto the base without military identification. The alleged shooting took place on September 27 near Sierra Blanca, Texas. A 16-year-old boy wanted as part of an investigation into the killings of three teenagers in central Florida was captured by authorities, days after another teenager and a 12-year-old were charged in the deaths. But then, he told Texas detectives he could take them to Mounts body.

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