Posted on 11/28/2004 6:46:23 AM PST by HiJinx
TUCSON - A Douglas rancher known for detaining illegal immigrants faces a lawsuit from a local Hispanic family that accuses him of pointing a loaded rifle at them.
The family is asking for at least $200,000 for emotional distress following an encounter with rancher Roger Barnett on his ranch, according a lawsuit filed Friday in Cochise County Superior Court.
Ronald Morales, his father, his 9- and 11-year-old daughters and their 11-year-old friend were deer hunting on Oct. 30 when they encountered Barnett.
Morales said Barnett pointed a cocked and loaded AR-15 rifle at the group - all U.S. citizens who live in Douglas.
The incident led Morales to call the Cochise County Sheriff's Department.
His daughters and their friend told authorities they "thought they were going to die," and Morales said Barnett called him an "ignorant Mexican."
Morales told the deputy he didn't know the land he was deer hunting on belonged to Barnett. He told authorities there were no signs or fences to indicate it was private property.
Morales had a hunting permit, said he held a private property access pass and believed he was hunting legally on property owned by another Douglas resident.
Barnett said he believed the family was knowingly trespassing on his property.
The deputy wrote in his report that Barnett shook his fist at him and seemed "extremely agitated and angry."
No criminal charges stemming from the altercation have been filed.
Another Douglas resident filed a lawsuit against Barnett Friday in Cochise County accusing the rancher of trespassing on his property and impersonating a law enforcement agent.
Donald Mackenzie, who provides humanitarian aid to illegal immigrants, wants an injunction to prevent Barnett from treading on his property.
In his lawsuit, Mackenzie alleges Barnett impersonated a federal agent and tried to apprehend about 30 migrants on Mackenzie's property on Oct. 11, 2003.
For years, the Barnetts have patrolled their 22,000-acre ranch near Douglas armed, apprehending illegal immigrants crossing their property and turning them over to the U.S. Border Patrol.
Mr. Mackenzie runs an unusual operation allied with some unsavory New Age and other characters.
With my best Charlie Chan imitation ...
Explain please?
Those who need to protect their power base vis-a-vis illegal immigrants have had it in for Roger and his brothers for over 5 years now.
I don't doubt the facts as presented after Roger found Mr. Morales on his property. I also don't doubt for a second that Mr. Morales knew exactly where he was and what he was doing. If he didn't know he was on Roger's ranch, then he is indeed an ignorant Mexican-American.
I don't remember all the details, JB dug around and found them when the original story was posted last year.
The Mackenzies run a ranch that borders Roger's to the north. The name is Red Hawk something or other. They offer refuge to witches, among other things.
They're supposed to be tight with a group in Tucson tied to MALDEF or LaRaza. Let me see if I can dig up the details.
I am getting old. Please educate me on how one can tell that Ar-15 was "cocked and loaded" just by looking at it.SF
Don't get too excited! Roger and our Sheriff work hand in hand to try to stem the flood of illegals through our county.
As for the lawyers...who do you think (rhetorical question) I'm talking about when I say people with a power base? This facet of the pro-illegal movement is all about binding the hands of those trying to stop the immivasion through legal means.
Don Mackenzie, aka Don Sagehawk, owns a new age "monastery" next to Barnett's ranch. It is run by an abbess and its philosophy is about as coherent as the kooks in California who killed themselves to catch a ride with the aliens hiding behind a comet. I've seen this monkery -- it's just a collection of rundown shacks and busted up trailers.
Old Sagehawk has been having financial difficulties. His followers aren't exactly affluent. This lawsuit is actually a continuation of the accusations last year.
Bump
Good morning.
"...cocked and loaded."
That was my first thought also when I read the article.
Michael Frazier
(Methinks Mr. Burnett has done a good job. Mebbe so good that he has caught the attention of the migrant smugglers.
________________________________________
For years, the Barnetts have patrolled their 22,000-acre ranch near Douglas armed, apprehending illegal immigrants crossing their property and turning them over to the U.S. Border Patrol.
I've owned several of the "poodle shooters" and the only way I know is to pull back on the charging handle to see if you've got a round chambered. Or you could use the "New York City Method" and stick your eye up to the barrel and pull the trigger.
Roger's ranch is 22,000 acres -- that's over 34 square miles. It is well fenced and marked.
It also sits right between the border and the favored pick-up points on Highway 80, so Roger has literally thousands upon thousands of illegal aliens and drug smugglers crossing his property. He has taken a lot of losses in vandalism, theft, and general destruction of property.
The Barnetts got tired of the situation and spent a small fortune on securing the ranch -- ground sensors, infrared cameras, etc. They also started detaining illegals and turning them over to the Border Patrol -- about 12,000 to 14,000 so far. This makes the Barnetts very unpopular in some circles.
Do I guess that the nine year old was supposed to haul the carcass out while the older girls carried daddy and gramp's 30-06?
Sure, we get a pretty bad breed here what with Columbia mafioso and revolutionaries from Nicaragua. OTOH, you can't get a driver's license here without a visa, and they got cops every 50 miles or so checking your license and your passport.. You get caught without either you go straight to jail.
Somebody please ping me if a system like this ever goes on the ballot up there stateside. I'm telling ya, it works.
La Raza is trying to shut Barnett down.
"Don't get too excited"
Oh, thank you for that!
I was gett'in REAL excited for awhile there.
What this country needs is an "open season" on lawyers....say Jan.1 to Dec.31...(then maybe a bow season to run concurrently)
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