A female migrant was also shot but is recovering at a hospital in El Paso, the spokesperson added. 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.. Sheppard began working as a warden in 2015 at the West Texas facility, which has been the subject of several allegations of violence against immigrants, according to The Intercept. He and his brother, Mark Sheppard, were arrested, jail records show. home found his body buried underneath a camper top in his backyard. Greg Abbott. Saturday night shooting in downtown Fort Myers under investigation. WebSierra Blanca crime rates are 73% higher than the national average. Garca grew up near the region where these two shootings occurred this week. Mark Sheppard told agents that he did not report to law enforcement authorities when they found out a migrant had been killed at the location where they were shooting. What possibly could go wrong? People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. "One male immigrant was shot and killed," their statement read. 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. According to the affidavits filed, This is pissing me off, he said. The warrant for his arrest said a neighbor had seen McDonald entering Knapps home, removing items with another female who was most definitely not Mount. Mike Thomas Sheppard, who until this week was warden of the privately run West Texas Detention Center in Sierra Blanca, and brother Mark Sheppard were arrested late Wednesday by Texas Rangers on manslaughter charges. CBP is charged with securing the borders of the United States while enforcing hundreds of laws and facilitating lawful trade and travel. I hunt man, he added in a grinning reference to the nature of his job in law enforcement. No suspects were ever identified. Authorities believe that these murders were the collateral damage of a cartel turf war that spilled into Mexico. This is just another example of how President Biden's open border policies continue endangering lives. The family says Sepulveda is the man who was shot and killed last month in Sierra Blanca, Texas. Sierra Blanca, TX. Its been over a decade since the man who was last seen with Mary Mount led investigators to the shallow grave where he had left her body near Sierra Blanca, Texas. Terlingua Murder Trial Ends With 'Not Guilty' Verdict My son did not deserve to die this way, Napolen Seplveda Moreno said in an interview last week. Our Town: Gloria Barrios Texas Air Force Reservist Found Stabbed to Death in Hotel The AFOSI referred to the death as a homicide in the media in the early stages of the investigation. Immigrants told federal investigators that one man yelled out in Spanish for the group to come out, adding profanities to his demand. The FBI processed thecrime scene and collaboratedwith theensuing Air Force investigation. 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. He told agents Mike Sheppard fired two rounds from a shotgun. Hudspeth Sheriff Arvin West did not immediately return an email Thursday. Knapp said she misses her daughters company, especially around the holidays, which is when Mount went missing in 2004. "The division and fear that Greg Abbott and his fellow bigots have created has made Texas a more dangerous place for all Hispanics. And I didnt see their demeanor change.. The newest crime podcast to make the rounds is called The Heads of Sierra Blanca. She said someone had been inside her home, and Mounts jewelry and computer were missing. Neither responded to requests for comment. SIERRA BLANCA, Texas U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Sierra Blanca Border Patrol Station arrested a citizen of France illegally in the United States and wanted for murder by Interpol, Aug. 6. Yet, the words and vitriol used against Latinos and migrants are leading to murder. The FBI El Paso field office said in a statement the shooting happened in the evening of Sept. 27 in Sierra Blanca, Texas. Sierra Blanca Most agreed that they just wanted transparency and would have given this podcast a listen if it hadn't been trying to pass for something it wasn't. No pictures of her in USAF uniform. Hudspeth County, which sprawls over an area nearly the size of Connecticut, has faced a larger number of migrants trying to cross through the dangerous desert terrain, as the number of people seeking refuge in the United States has climbed sharply over the past few years. Sept. 29, 2022 ", He added: "National leaders on both sides of the aisle need to condemn the rhetoric that inspired this attack, and Texas authorities must swiftly prosecute this crime as murder.". Dead airmans family unhappy about lack of progress in case Migrant shot and killed, another wounded in rural Sierra Blanca The Sierra Blanca Station area of responsibility consists of more than half of Hudspeth County or about 2,500 square miles. Border Patrol helped trace the truck and investigators discovered the vehicle was assigned to Mike Sheppard, according to the newspaper. The warden at the West Texas Detention Center (WTDC), Sierra Blanca, TX has been terminated due to an off-duty incident unrelated to his employment, Sutterfield said. More than 10,000 vehicles travel through the Sierra Blanca checkpoint on a daily basis. 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. ", 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Thus, the pod investigates the "truth" week after week. They spend a lot of time outdoors. The men, per the Times, said in interviews with law enforcement that they had been out looking for animals to shoot. Austin Music Experience | All Austin musicians and artists | KUTX HD2, Texas Music Experience | Listen anytime at tmx.fm | KUTX HD3, Texas Public Radio | Bah was processed according to the applicable immigration laws. Help us secure our homeland, find out more at cbp.gov/careers. Copyright 2023 Fort Myers Broadcasting. (LogOut/ At one point, the driver revved the engine. Agents from the U.S. Border Patrols Sierra Blanca checkpoint were also called to help the Hudspeth County Sheriffs Office locate a female gunshot victim around 9:15 p.m., a spokesperson for the federal agency said. It was not clear why Mike Sheppard and his brother were accused of manslaughter as opposed to another potential criminal charge this week. The family believes that AFOSI did not investigate the crime with due diligence and was trying to lead them to believe Blanca committed suicide. They shot me, Ms. Casias can be heard saying, then adding, They are OK. Its just me and another guy. 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 She was in the Marines. Eventually, the family learned from the autopsy report that the official manner of death was considered undetermined. Border Patrol, the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations helped in the inquiry. Grissom Airman found dead in Texas Some people in town have expressed shock, saying the brothers had never displayed any sort of racial animus. 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. Border Report reached out to DPS for confirmation of the victims Some of the migrants have said they were lured on to the flights with promises of jobs, housing and other benefits. The affidavit says he also told agents he asked Mike Sheppard "did you get him?" If Greg Abbott really cared about public safety, he would immediately condemn these actions and the violent actions of all vigilantes.. "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. But I dont want other people to suffer the way that we are suffering.. The other was fatally struck and died at the scene. An official website of the United States government. 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. Sierra Blanca, the county seat of Hudspeth County, is at the intersection of Ranch Road 1111, Interstate Highway 10, and U.S. Highway 80, eighty miles southeast of El Paso in the south central part of the county. Death on the Border: Were Twin Brothers Hunting Migrants or He then changed his story and said he and his brother "looking for ducks, then changed it to birds, and then to Javelina's." 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. The Air Force cannot guarantee the bases safety when they do not even know who committed the crime. The guy died. The vehicle allegedly was assigned to Mike Sheppard and registered to his employer. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. By, A service of the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin, dangerous anti-immigrant political rhetoric, How an anti-abortion campaign overtook a reproductive rights club on one Texas campus, Always on our minds: Austin celebrates 90 years of Willie Nelson, Severe storms are moving through the Austin area, More than a third of Texas prisons don't have air conditioning. The station is responsible for 73 border miles between the U.S. and Mexico. Change). The FBI, United States Border Patrol, and Homeland Security Investigations are assisting. Fans of the podcast 'The Heads of Sierra Blanca' are dying to know whether there is any truth to the murders of Sierra Blanca. Three days after Mr. Seplveda texted his father that he had made it across the border, the group stopped for water at a small pond along a rural road. Sierra Blanca abandoned truck stop was the second scariest place weve stayed. 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. 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. They initially labeled the death a suspicious incident. Copyright 2022 Texas Public Radio. But he waited until last week to create a cartel division at Texas DPS. 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. Six months after her death, no official determination was made as to the manner of death: homicide, suicide, or accident. My condolences to the family. The Hudspeth County Clerks office said Monday afternoon it still had not received any documents and had no case against the brothers formally docketed. 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. Sheppard was specifically accused of punching and kicking a man as he was handcuffed and in solitary confinement, the Intercept reported. 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. WINK News reached out to McDonald and his attorney for comment but did not hear back. Case files from the Andrade Murder show that he didnt tell them anything at first. 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. Tuesdays incident drew condemnation from Texas Democratic Party and a caucus of Hispanic lawmakers. I know that. Crime in Sierra Blanca, Texas - Best Places They were identified as Mike Thomas Sheppard and Mark Edward Sheppard, both 60. Steve Knapp recalled them arriving in a small brown paper bag, and broke into tears. During the 60-minute event, the candidates stuck to the talking points that have so far dominated this election season. Dan Patrick (R-TX). She felt like this is a good thing. 'The Heads of Sierra Blanca': True Story or Fiction? Details Please dont tell Mom. Cracking down on antisemitic acts in Florida, all the way from Isreal, after a new law protects people by hardening punishment for antisemitism. All so gross. This is an ongoing investigation by the Texas Rangers and FBI and no further information is available at this time. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. The group came out of the brush, they said, because they thought the truck had driven away. Do you think The Heads of Sierra Blanca should have been more forthcoming and transparent? The brothers reportedly told law enforcement they were looking for animals to shoot. does not care about record high numbers of illegal immigrants. She was taken to a local hospital in Wichita Falls where she died shortly thereafter. God sees it all and is the ultimate judge and jury. Former warden and brother arrested for allegedly shooting 2 The sprawling surrounding county, home to some 3,200 people, is more than three-quarters Hispanic. San Antonio first responders received the two calls within moments of each other Friday evening. An official website of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Employees with Uber and Lyft said theyre not getting paid enough, taking high gas prices and inflation into account. Theyre looking in the wrong placeI cant express what I feel about these people. Two of the men were waving and asking for help while a third, was suffering from a gunshot wound to his face. Michael Sheppard fired two shots with a shotgun, according to the affidavits. The Lee County Sheriffs Office is holding a press conference regarding an arrest after a deadly Sunday morning shooting in Lehigh Acres. According to AFOSI, theFBI assistedwith the investigation. It was unclear late Thursday what, if any, action federal officials took after the report was released and published in The Intercept. Abbott has waged a battle against Bidens border policy and Mexican cartels since early 2021. The two brothers charged last week in a shooting that killed one person and left another injured near Sierra Blanca were released from the Hudspeth County jail Monday night on bonds of $250,000 each, the county sheriffs office said. Around sunset, two men in a pickup truck drove by, and the migrants took cover in the brush. (LogOut/ Michael Sheppard Arrested After Allegedly Shooting Immigrants Mr. Seplveda suffered a fatal gunshot to the head. 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. UPDATE:After the first report on this story in May 2018, WINK News obtained exclusive interrogation video with murder suspect Terry Daniel McDonald. I think theres often a credibility bias toward law enforcement, said Fatma E. Marouf, one of the reports authors and a law professor at Texas A&M University. 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. "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. And then revved the engine. Mounts family feels every year that goes by is another year that someone got away with murder. She said initially she struggled to get the Lee County Sheriffs Office to open a missing persons case because Mount was an adult. Suddenly the truck stopped, backed up and stopped again. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. The incident is under investigation by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Sheppard AFB security forces squadron. U.S. Border Patrol aided the search for the shooter. Ive never gone hunting with them. Five years later, still with no answers, Gloria Barrios was battling depression and hospitalized. Offers may be subject to change without notice. By 2021, the detention center no longer housed any migrants for federal authorities, according to inspection records. 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. Who turned off the cameras? Listeners pointed out small clues that gave it away, like the nieces not sounding convincing and the fact that one of the police characters is voiced by Machete's Danny Trejo. WebCrime in Sierra Blanca, Texas. 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. He was hunting immigrants.". Its been over a decade since the man who was last seen with Blancas momwants answers from military officials, and she wants them to classify Lunas death as a homicide and find the culprit. The Murder of Military Women Continues 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.. They drove away and attended a water board meeting. My son did not deserve to die this way, he said. Mount wasnt answering her phone, and eventually the calls would go straight to voicemail. 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. It was a murder, and it was a hate crime.. 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. EL PASO Two men shot two migrants, killing one and injuring another, earlier this week while the two victims stood along a West Texas road getting water, authorities said. One man was killed and a woman was injured. Mount was born with a genetic disorder at only five pounds. 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. A spokesman for LaSalle Corrections said Sheppard was no longer employed by the company. Court records, however, did not show either of the men had been formally charged as of Thursday afternoon with a crime. A county court clerk in El Paso said there were no documents available yet because the men were recently booked. The people shot were part of a group of migrants, according to the FBI. 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. And so I gave him my blessings, Mr. Seplveda said in a telephone interview. Two 60-year-old brothers were arrested Thursday in connection with the shooting in Sierra Blanca Tuesday night, which is being investigated by the Texas Department of Public Safety. Two of Blancas friends who had visited her at the base noted that she had talked about problems with some airman in her classes. Keep reading to find out. The U.S. Border Patrol is made up of over 19,000 brave men and women who courageously secure our nations borders. (The US average is 22.7) Sierra Blanca The brothers, the Sheppards, were taken into custody and remain in jail in El Paso. In a detailed voluntary statement, McDonald said he wanted to make clear he did not murder Mount. Appreciate it! Suspicious death: Student airman with stab wound dies in hospital "Definitely an intriguing and creepy plot. She was living in the Chicago, Illinois area and studying Graphic Design. Heads of Sierra Blanca | iHeart How do you think Fort Myers Beach should spend its share of $1.1 billion. This whole thing is disgusting, and so dismissive of actual victims and their families.". They turned their back on her, said Knapp. Knapp said that was the last time she saw her daughter. Within three weeks, the Lee County Sheriffs Office located McDonald in Corpus Christi Texas with Mounts car, jewelry and credit cards. Two brothers were arrested in connection to the shooting that occurred Tuesday on FM 1111 in Hudspeth County, approximately four miles south of Sierra Blanca, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. PublishedOctober 6, 2022 at 11:10 AM CDT. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent. According to a DPS spokesperson, a DPS trooper encountered three males in the center median of Interstate 10. UVALDE ROCKED BY HORRIFIC FATAL CRASH INVOLVING IMMIGRANT SMUGGLER. Sheriff West was there, too. While awaiting trial, Lee County detectives came to Texas to question him once again about Mount. Two 60-year-old brothers were arrested Thursday in connection with the shooting in Sierra Blanca Tuesday night, which is being investigated by the Texas Department of Public Safety. All rights reserved. The soldier is the 10th known Texas Guard member linked to the mission to die since its rapid expansion began in September 2021. She was taken to Del Sol Hospital in El Paso. According to the podcast, Ana Nuez, Carlos Aniceto and Magdalena's own aunt, Lorena Salas, were murdered by a killer. In an effort to keep CBP.gov current, the archive contains content from a previous administration or is otherwise outdated. This is a military base highly secured. Im sure the thought back then was, theres probable cause for burglary. My gut feeling is they are looking for a culprit outside of the base, but the murderer is on the base. 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. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribunes journalism. When Mounts remains were discovered, they were severely decomposed. I am not aware of any message boards regarding this topic. On Friday afternoon, Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) called the incident a "hate crime against brown-skinned immigrants that was inspired by the invasion rhetoric" from Gov. 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. The two suspects were taken into custody and each charged with manslaughter on Thursday, the spokesperson added. Border Patrol Apprehends Interpol Murder Suspect. The people shot were part of a group of RAICES, the organization that helped to author the 2018 report about Sheppard and the West Texas Detention Center, released a statement. USBP agents responded and will continue aiding the investigating agencies as needed. See the explanation McDonald gave to police whileMountwas missing. Help us secure our homeland, find out more at. Additionally, Bahs records checks revealed that he had an active Interpol warrant for murder out of France. Michael and Mark Sheppard were transferred from the El Paso County jail, where they had been taken last month, to a jail in Hudspeth County, and then released last week after each posted bond of $250,000, according to the chief deputy sheriff in Hudspeth County, Lasaro Salgado.

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