[Houston, Texas: Illegal] Immigrant dies as van hit by shots on I-59 North

Houston Chronicle ^ | May 5, 2007 | JENNIFER LEAHY

[SwinneySwitch]

Police say victim was among 15-20 illegal immigrants

A man in a van filled with illegal immigrants was fatally shot Friday night on the Eastex Freeway, and the rest of the occupants drove away after dropping off the victim and three other men, police said.

Arturo Romero Villegas, 49, was one of 15 to 20 passengers in a white transport van with darkly tinted windows operated by Houston-based Transportes Tania. The van was on the feeder road north of Little York around 10:50 p.m. when Villegas asked the driver to pull over because something had "hit" him.

The driver pulled into the parking lot of La Tierra Prometida, a church at the corner of Darwin and Epson, one block east of the freeway.

Villegas' nephew and two other men got him out of the van. He died at the scene from a gunshot wound to the torso.

Harris County sheriff's deputies said that four to six shots were fired from a small, two-door, dark-colored car going north on U.S. 59 North.

"Several people said that at first they thought they were hearing firecrackers," said sheriff's spokesman Lt. John Martin.

Authorities said the passengers are illegal immigrants and were headed to Seattle for work. A description of the van, which now has bullet holes on the left side, has been distributed nationally. It is unknown if the shooting is related to human smuggling.

Luisa Deason, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman in Houston, said that the agency is not involved in the investigation at this time.

Transportes Tania could not be reached for comment.

jennifer.leahy@chron.com

[Paperdoll]

President Bush called the organized Minutement “vigilantes”. So now because even the
Border Patrol is given extraordinary prison sentences for doing their jobs, the true vigilantes are taking over. Viva vigilantes!

[AuntB]

white transport van with darkly tinted windows operated by Houston-based Transportes Tania.

????

That item is just thrown in the article like it's 'greyhound' or something....no problem transporting aliens around the country I guess!

According to this site, Houston-based Transportes Tania has had some safety problems in the past.

http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/Passenger/search_results.asp?State=ALL_US&Submit=Find+Carriers&VehicleType=Mini_Van&Zipcode=7760&keyword=

[ridesthemiles]

There are a few police/sheriff departments in the USA who are sending their deputies to training sessions with the Border Patrol so that they can be “registered” with both agencies, and to learn the paperwork necessary to handle illegals. ICE won’t respond to coming and picking them up for processing. Sheriff’s men can do all the proper paperwork, and transport them to the Bordre Patrol for deportation.
One illegal had been picked up 3-4 times in one area with sexual assualt charges and ICE would NOT come get him He was out on bail and he severely assaulted a woman, with lots of damage to her. Now he is in jail with no bail. Sheriff is eager to get his deputies “double registered” to get them out of USA.

[DoughtyOne]

Glad to hear about the deputies being trained, but doesn’t it ring true that ICE would refuse to act. “Who us deport them? Surely you must be dilusional!”

[PAR35]

And, Houston Mayor, Bill White says we don't have an illegal immigrant problem.

He's right. There is no problem for him, as long as they vote democrat.

[HiJinx]

Rivalries in the market?

Big time. Boosting the competition's load is becoming quite common.

[weegee]

So we can’t have guns in our possession on the streets of Houston because we might turn the city into the OK Coral. Meanwhile the rival coyotes smuggling human cargo have turned this into the Streets of Laredo.

[weegee]

But the proper thing to do is to make a violent CRIMINAL pay his debt to society, not to bag, tag, and release him just over the border. He’s too likely to return to his tricks of rape AND illegal entry into the US.

Who wants to permit a known criminal to rape again?

IF border security was doing the job of keeping EVERYONE out, criminals could not enter our country.

[EricT.]

Not to nit-pick, but Interstate 59 is not in Houston.

[gaijin]

Last week Strategypage.com revealed that drug traffickers are muscling into human smuggling in an aggressive way.

This is advertising: if you go with Brand X, you might get a lead infection, and become bug food.

[PeaceBeWithYou]

Where’s it at then?

[SwinneySwitch]

US Hwy 59.

It’s hard to find good editors these days.

[TheLion]

Bttt!

[ZULU]

Invader stopped by enraged invadee.

[EricT.]

It’s in Alabama.

[deport]

Where’s it at then?

---

INTERSTATE 59

• Number of Miles- 442
  • Louisiana- 11 miles
  • Mississippi- 171.716 miles
  • Alabama- 241 miles
  • Georgia- 19 miles
• Southern End- Alton, LA at the I-10,I-12 intersection.
• Northern End- Lookout Mountain, GA at I-24
• Major Cities Along the Route-
  • Meridian, MS
  • Tuscaloosa, AL (for crnflkgrl) :)
  • Birmingham, AL
• Intersections with other Interstates
  • I-10 at Alton, LA
  • I-12 at Alton, LA
  • I-20 at Meridian, MS. They stay joined until Birmingham, AL
  • I-65 at Birmingham, AL
  • I-24 at Lookout Mountain, GA
• Spur Routes-
  • Tuscaloosa, AL- I-359
  • Birmingham, AL- I-459
  • Gadsen, AL- I-759

[Spirochete]

FBI stats will count the Hispanic victim as “Hispanic”, and the Hispanic perp as “White”.

[SwinneySwitch]

US 59 is named the Senator Lloyd Bentsen highway between IH-45 and IH-35, and is part part of High Priority Corridor 18, future Interstate 69. Signs are placed along the route south of Houston advertising the future Interstate status.

[the_daug]

I doubt it, more like gang activity.

[Eaker]

Jorge Bush has this under control.

I heard him on the radio babbling in mexican on the 4th and 5th of May.

I guess he was telling them to get the hell out of our country.