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."
Stay safe Archy !!
I'd reckon it's nothing a pickup's worth of railroad rail wouldn't handle. Elevate one end about three feet high and point the low end in the direction from which trouble is expected; if they high center themselves, it's not a moving target any more. Even scrap oilfield pipe would do.
That and some road carpet ought to do it, a little easier to move out of the way than ranger jacks.
So just what, exactly, do you think the Border Patrol's job IS, then, Mr. Adame? Taking payola (geetus) from the drug smugglers?
There sympathies lie with the criminal invaders, not actual Americans.
Right up to the Casa Blanca.
Stay safe !
From the article:
"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."
Because the BATF would likely come in and arrest him for committing the unpardonable sin of owning something more than peashooters.
Somebody?
Anybody?
I think it depends on one's weaponry and objective.
Almost any shot to the radiator will limit a vehicle's useful range to a few miles. If the vehicle is approaching the shooter, the radiator is probably the largest target and so shooting it will be the most reliable way of ensuring the crooks can't just drive away as though nothing happened.
Shooting the tires will incapacitate a vehicle more quickly than shooting the radiator, but they're a smaller target and thus harder to hit.
Shooting the engine will stop an engine instantly *IF* the bullet reaches certain critical parts. Depending upon the weapon used, this may be likely or unlikely. A .50 Barett would probably have a decent chance of stopping an engine with one shot. A .22lr would be much less likely to do so. Intermediate firearms would offer intermediate odds.
Shooting at the occupants of the vehicle, of course, would incapacitate them (and thus the vehicle) immediately if a hit was scored, but depending upon jurisdiction may pose legal problems unless the occupants are directly threatening the defender with severe bodily harm.
Perhaps the best strategy would be to use a rifle with a telescopic scope and start by taking cover and shooting at the radiator. If one is shooting from behind cover, the attackers aren't likely to shoot accurately while their vehicle is moving, but a scope should allow the defender to see how they're reacting as their vehicle stops.
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