Posted on 03/20/2004 12:20:50 PM PST by JackelopeBreeder
Douglas-area shooter takes on smugglers, nearly pays with life
DOUGLAS - Richard Kozak had enough.
After two years of drug smugglers running their loads across his 40-acre property, tearing down fences and at times taking wild shots at him, Kozak on Wednesday fired back with more than his usual warning shots.
Authorities say the suspected smugglers reacted with a full attack on Kozak's cabin, in a sparsely populated area some four miles east of Douglas.
The smugglers' attack resulted in his home being struck with more than 30 shots from an AK-47 and a handgun.
His 24-foot trailer was set ablaze and Kozak said he's now wondering just how far he's willing to take this personal drug war.
Some Douglas residents - and soon-to-be illegal entrants in Agua Prieta - say they worry Wednesday's incident is indicative of the biggest fear of vigilantism are coming true - shootouts between Americans and illegal border crossers.
Others in the community say Kozak did nothing but defend his property, faulting instead an uncontrolled border.
Kozak, a 58-year-old Oregon native who moved to his 40-acre "slice of the American pie" two years ago from Huachuca City, says he will defend his home.
"What am I supposed to do? Wrap a fence around my cabin and hide in there?" he asked.
Kozak said he does not blame the illegal entrants who frequently walk through the gullies around his cabin, leaving him alone on their journey north.
His concern is the trucks racing across his land, their loads covered in tarps and the tail lights disconnected to avoid the attention of federal agents.
First he put up gates to try to stop the smugglers. After three $200 gates and spending hundreds more for fences and posts, Kozak gave up because they were simply knocked over by the trespassers.
Kozak moved on to other barricades, made of wood and barbed wire with danger signs.
That's when the shots started. The shooting then was random, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents told him they were happening because he was trying to stop drug loads.
Kozak responded with his own warning shots.
But Wednesday, when a maroon truck drove across his property, something in Kozak snapped.
He opened fire on the truck with his rifle, placing three rounds in the hood.
The truck raced away.
Meanwhile, Kozak parked his own truck sideways on the road to block their return path and went inside to fix himself a pot of coffee.
That's when the shooting started.
The first bullet hit the wall, destroyed the kettle on the stove. The next bullet went into the water heater, followed by three more shots that ripped into the house. One bullet hit a photo album, passing through 20 pictures before stopping.
Kozak took cover, grabbed his rifle and went out the front door. The shooters were gone.
His travel trailer, set up sideways on the smuggler's route, was on fire. It's now a melted ruin of ash.
"That's the first time they ever unloaded that many rounds," he says. "They gave me a message and said, 'Don't shoot at us any more.'"
Officials agree.
"We kind of suspect that their reaction is to his firing on them," said Rod Rothrock, a commander with the Cochise County Sheriff's Department. "You could always expect violence to instigate violence."
He said his deputies have increased their patrols nearby. "We will do the best we can, but we're obviously not in a position to post a guard there," he said.
Ranch Rescue, the private militia that offers patrol services to ranchers along the border, wants to help to Kozak, said militia leader Jack Foote.
"This is the point that we reached, they're going to continue to attack American citizens and burn our homes down," he said.
Kozak has said he doesn't want it.
Douglas Mayor Ray Borane groaned when he heard of the shooting and that militia groups were eager to help.
"Ranch Rescue's been wanting this to happen and unfortunately, I don't believe they know the depth or magnitude of what could happen to them or the relations between both countries," he said.
"This is the beginning of what could become a series of confrontations," he said.
Jose Perez, a 36-year-old Mexican waiting to cross illegally from Agua Prieta Friday night, said the rumors that illegal entrants are targets reach all the way to Mexico City. "I hope nobody shoots at me," he said.
Dave Stoddard, a retired Border Patrol agent living in Douglas, looked at the shooting as an inevitable clash.
While he said Kozak shouldn't have fired first, smugglers shouldn't be running loads through his property, Stoddard said.
The Border Patrol's job was made more difficult by Kozak's forbidding them to enter his land, said Tucson Sector spokesman Andy Adame.
Kozak says he threatened the agency with an injunction because, like the smugglers, the agents kept cutting down his fences.
In the meantime, Kozak has loaded his important papers and bundles of clothes into his truck - just in case the smugglers torch his home next.
He said agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement have stopped by twice a day to check on him, but he knows they can't keep coming out.
Kozak said he plans to stick it out.
"Where should I go? A trailer court in Tucson?" he asked.
"I don't want to hurt anyone. But if someone shoots at me, I will defend myself."
I consider all engine blocks owned by the uninvited on my property to be target fodder. Tresspassers may drive onto my land but they will walk off to waiting LEO's if they are lucky. This guy should get hisself a backhoe to dig a little suprise just inside his fence line if those speeding oh dark thirty trucks drive thru em. Landscaping is still legal last I looked. Scrap metal from wrecked trucks, rewards from the contraband found abandoned etc etc will pay for the efforts quite well. Also as a lasts resort the proper application of the three "S" rule would stop this crap IMHO.
Stay Safe !
I am pleased to acknowledge my hypocrisy by excepting from Waco-style attacks leftist pig vomit who have "moved beyond being Americans" and work to "bring it all down, man" or give aid and comfort to enemies no matter where the pig vomit are, mainstream media offices, universities, the street, or even Congress itself.
We will do the best we can, but we're obviously not in a position to post a guard there.
This quote just kills me. You are a law enforcement officer. You know there are laws being violated at this site on a regular, sometimes daily basis, and you can't be bothered to watch the property to prevent it and perhaps put a stop to the crimes permanently? You dishonor your badge, sir. Step down immediately, and return the taxpayer's money that you took under false pretenses.
If the feds did so, the ordnance would come with too many restrictions to be of any use. Better he call Ranch Rescue and get reinforcements down there pronto.
The door panels and the windows are pretty much invisible to .30 caliber rifle rounds.
Love the tagline BTW.
L
It's gonna take a few retirees to move into "settlements" on the borders (with supporting fields of fire) IMO to make ground movement of contraband and invasion of this country by criminals a bit harder. Legal immigration is a great thing as that is what America has been made up of. Illegal aliens, invading this country should be dealt with as such.........invaders, criminals and enemies of our republic. Those US citizens found to be supporting illegal entry to this country should be stripped of their citizenship and deported after a 25 year stint in prison. Such "citizens" are no less dangerous to the long term safety and security of this nation than terrorists who murder.
Stay safe !
That would kind of ruin the fun. Hey, if they come into this country, they should know english
The door panels and the windows are pretty much invisible to .30 caliber rifle rounds.
As bright and shiny new tank gunners on the M48 tank, we were taught that 6-8 hits on a common unarmored *soft-skinned* truck from the .50 Browning machinegun would pretty well render the vehicle unusable- that many hits were probably going to take out multiple tires, the fuel tank, carberetter, battery, driver or other accessories essential to continued operation.
If we were to use the .30 caliber M37 machinegun mounted coaxially with the main gun, a weap[on using the same .30-06 cartridge as the M1 Garand or Springfield rifles, it was suggested that we go for a 12-15 round burst to obtain the same result. That was with military ball ammunition, of course.
I have no doubt that given a good .30-06 or .308/ 7,62 NATO rifle I could obtain the same result with careful aimed fire out to a quarter mile. Given a common lever-action deer rifle in the .30-30 cartridge, I could do about as well out to a couple of hundred yards, maybne 300, with the problem beyongd that point being more one of staying on target with rapid repeat shots than and problem with the effect of the bullets once they arrived, though the leverguns are limited on the shape of the bullets used in them.
But an M1 Garand, M1A or FAL would do fine. And a .50 rifle backed up with such a semiauto would be nearly ideal.
He said his deputies have increased their patrols nearby. "We will do the best we can, but we're obviously not in a position to post a guard there," he said.
They can make more money escorting the drug shipments. No wonder they don't want the local homeowners shooting at their well-paying friends.
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