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Border group members face felony charges
World Net Daily ^ | 3-21-03 | By Jon Dougherty

Posted on 03/21/2003 9:14:39 AM PST by Technoman

HEBBRONVILLE, Texas – A pair of Ranch Rescue volunteers arrested here Wednesday are facing two felony charges each, Texas Department of Public Safety officials say.

As WorldNetDaily reported yesterday, Casey Nethercutt of California and Hank Conner of Louisiana were arrested by Texas Ranger Sgt. Doyle Holdridge and charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a weapon and two counts of unlawful restraint for allegedly pistol-whipping and detaining a Salvadoran man and his wife early Wednesday morning.

Nethercutt and Conner were part of a four-man detachment from Ranch Rescue – a property-rights activist group – which was led by Texas chapter head and national spokesman Jack Foote. The four-man contingent, at the request of rancher Joe Sutton, was here to prevent criminal trespassers from crossing Sutton's property.

Law enforcement and other sources say the men are being held in a detention facility in nearby Falfurrias. Officials said yesterday that bond for each man had been set at $200,000. The men were expected to be arraigned in Hebbronville this morning.

Holdridge told WorldNetDaily that the Salvadoran couple – a man and woman described as being in their mid-20s, but whose names have not yet been released – bore some visible physical signs of injury. After Nethercutt and Conner were apprehended, the Salvadoran couple picked the men out of a photo array, said the arresting officer.

Foote said the charges are bogus. He said he and his team "never touched" the couple, "except to pat them down and search them for weapons" after discovering them lying down in brush early Wednesday morning around 1 a.m. He says he has pictures to prove it, although they weren't available at publication time.

After Nethercutt and Conner searched the two Salvadorans, said Foote, they "were taken by van" to the front of Sutton's property, which is guarded by a heavy, steel, sliding gate that remains locked along Hwy. 16.

In the interim, said Foote, the U.S. Border Patrol – which mans an inspection station about seven miles north of Sutton's ranch – was notified to come pick up the Salvadorans. But after waiting around 45 minutes, Sutton grew impatient and ordered his detachment to simply open the front gate and release the Salvadoran couple, said Foote.

The Border Patrol arrived about 10 minutes later, said Foote. Sources told WND the Salvadoran couple eventually turned themselves in to Border Patrol officers, but agency officials would not confirm that.

Border Patrol spokesmen in Hebbronville and Laredo had no comment, except to say the case was being handled by Texas authorities.

It was unclear how the Salvadorans' testimony was obtained; neither Holdridge nor Jim Hogg County Sheriff's Department officials would say. Holdridge did say Wednesday, however, that the Salvadoran couple did not swear out a complaint.

"I filed charges on behalf of the state of Texas," he told WND.

In addition to legal problems, Nethercutt, who is in his mid-30s, and Conner, who was described as being nearly 60, have experienced health problems since being incarcerated. Officials say Nethercutt is suffering complications from pancreatitis, while Conner is suffering from chronic high blood pressure.

Authorities allowed volunteers to bring Conner medicine early yesterday, but refused to allow them to visit Nethercutt. Officials were also unclear as to whether Nethercutt had been taken for treatment to an area hospital or whether he was being treated on-site at a detention center health facility.

Foote says he is confident the men will be exonerated, but believes they will have to endure a lengthy court battle to prove their innocence. He also said he is having difficulty raising bail money and that he asked Sutton to help, but that he refused.

Although the current "mission" on Sutton's ranch is over, Foote pledges that the incident won't permanently damage Ranch Rescue.

"We just have to pick our battles," he said. "Right now, I just want to get these guys out of jail."


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Government; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: borderpatrol; ranchers
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To: jude24
Uh huh. Sure you didn't.
101 posted on 03/21/2003 9:00:58 PM PST by Tancredo Fan
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To: Tancredo Fan; Admin Moderator; jude24; Poohbah
Sheriff Erasmo Alarcon said. ...

"Hmmm..... one really has to watch whom one votes for."

Us conservatives repudiate your apparent attempt to play the race card in this story.

102 posted on 03/21/2003 9:04:27 PM PST by Cultural Jihad
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To: george wythe; Tancredo Fan; Poohbah; Jim Robinson; Luis Gonzalez; Bella_Bru

To me it is obvious. The couple charged that they were cruelly assaulted, according to the local sheriff, who, (and here's the really important part to Tancredo Fan since he made the text big and bold) who happens to have an Hispanic name. This implies that the incident didn't really happen but rather was fabricated by the economic refugees and supported by the sheriff with the same race. What Tancredo Fan is portraying, willfully or not, is a racial incident perpetrated against whites by Hispanics, that the little brown people are out to oppress and harass innocent whites, and supposedly we are to be outraged by this injustice in order to ignore the physical assault and resulting investigation and arrests.

Us conservatives repudiate this old, wicked sin against justice, to judge people based on inconsequential or immutable characteristics.

103 posted on 03/21/2003 9:21:42 PM PST by Cultural Jihad
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To: Cultural Jihad
What a bummer. If anyone played a bogus card, it would appear to be Erasmo and BICE. Let the judge sort it out. The bottom line is that if the much-touted 'Department of Homeland Security' was really concerned with intrusions and did something about them, then Ranch Rescue would have no need to do it for them. Give ol' Asa 'we want to keep the borders open' and 'commerce is more important than security' Hutchinson a call and see if he'll do anything to keep these moochers out of here. What do you want to bet that national security isn't really high on the priority list in DC if it compromises a steady flow of slave labor? Call (202) 456-1414 Monday and ask to speak to Jorge.

104 posted on 03/21/2003 9:22:02 PM PST by Tancredo Fan
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To: Tancredo Fan
You're swerving in the lane, now. What does someone being pistol-whipped by some vigilantes and the sheriff's name and heritage have to do with Homeland Security? Nothing at all.
105 posted on 03/21/2003 9:27:40 PM PST by Cultural Jihad
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To: RnMomof7
"The border only needs a welcome wagon to be complete"

This is off-topic, but: perhaps making fun of the politicians responsible might bring more attention to this issue than the current strategy.

How about a billboard (or a large cardboard Conestoga wagon) painted with something like "Welcome to America, illegal aliens! -- Signed, Democrats and Republicans for no border control."
106 posted on 03/21/2003 9:33:08 PM PST by lonewacko_dot_com (http://lonewacko.com/blog)
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To: Cultural Jihad
What does someone being pistol-whipped by some vigilantes and the sheriff's name and heritage have to do with Homeland Security?

I'm still looking for some concrete evidence that anyone was unlawfully 'abused', other than loose allegations made by a couple of clowns who are admittedly unlawfully in the country. Sounds like set-up to me.

107 posted on 03/21/2003 9:33:52 PM PST by Tancredo Fan
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To: Technoman
Let's say they didn't do it. In that case, they should be very careful to document (video, logs, etc.) their every move from now on, and make sure that they stay within the law and have legal advice. And, the pols involved are on a witch hunt.

However, if they did do it, then they should be punished, and RR should make sure they screen their volunteers better. Things like this only serve to inflame the situation, and help people like, for instance, Grijalva.

Like it says at http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=180&xlc=966571 ""We've never seen anything like this before. I was raised on a ranch, and we deal with illegal aliens, but the way they are treating these people is inhumane. It won't be tolerated," the sheriff said."
108 posted on 03/21/2003 9:38:36 PM PST by lonewacko_dot_com (http://lonewacko.com/blog)
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To: Technoman
I'm suprised it took this long. Were these psuedo cops lost like Simcox?
109 posted on 03/21/2003 9:39:45 PM PST by PRND21
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To: Cultural Jihad
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/866500/posts
"For the "country's safety," Sheriff Erasmo Alarcon Jr., of Jim Hogg County, published a letter in a local newspaper to alert citizens of reports he has received for some years from ranchers who have spotted the unknown troops, equipped with "professional backpacks" and walking together in a military cadence..."
110 posted on 03/21/2003 9:43:42 PM PST by lonewacko_dot_com (http://lonewacko.com/blog)
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To: lonewacko_dot_com
I'd say that it's about time that Perry took an in-depth look at Erasmo.
111 posted on 03/21/2003 9:46:10 PM PST by Tancredo Fan
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To: lonewacko_dot_com
Thanks for the link. That's an interesting article. But since the sheriff has a foreign-sounding name, supposedly we are to believe this story is a fabrication, too.
112 posted on 03/21/2003 9:46:18 PM PST by Cultural Jihad
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To: Technoman
Reach out, Reach out and touch someone...

Reach way, way, WAAAAAayyy out...

113 posted on 03/21/2003 9:50:11 PM PST by fire_eye
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To: Black Agnes
"It's more a parasitical infection"

Familiar words.

114 posted on 03/21/2003 9:52:35 PM PST by Luis Gonzalez (The Ever So Humble Banana Republican)
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To: Cultural Jihad
Tancredo Fan LIKES the idea of pistol whipping women.
115 posted on 03/21/2003 9:56:07 PM PST by Luis Gonzalez (The Ever So Humble Banana Republican)
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To: Tancredo Fan
A couple of "clowns"?

The clowns are the guys playing vigilantes, breaking Texas law, pistol whipping defenseless people, and the jerks like you who support them.

116 posted on 03/21/2003 9:57:57 PM PST by Luis Gonzalez (The Ever So Humble Banana Republican)
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To: dirtboy
We don't generally see eye to eye on this subject, but I must applaud your apparent stance that the law must be enforced by legal means.

Thanks for the information you've supplied, and the misinformation you have helped to debunk.
117 posted on 03/21/2003 10:01:18 PM PST by Luis Gonzalez (The Ever So Humble Banana Republican)
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To: Luis Gonzalez
What exactly do you call it when 34% of them receive welfare according to the 2000 census reports? As opposed to 12-14% of natives? They receive MORE welfare as a percentage than ANY other group of immigrants. Immigrants as a group receive 22% welfare. Millions more immigrants are Mexican than any other group by volume. They're coming here for the welfare. 34%!!!!!
118 posted on 03/22/2003 6:48:10 AM PST by Black Agnes
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To: Black Agnes
Why bother with him. The only thing he defends more vehemently than iSLAM is the flooding of our country and culture with the third-worlders from south of the border. I wonder where the hispanic losers will flee when they have diluted our culture to the point that America becomes the corrupt, disease-ridden, incompetent, impoverished dumps that they escaped from. I wouldn't have a problem with them if they would leave their loserly turd-world cultures and languages behind rather than demanding We conform to THEM.

Assimilate and speak English or GET OUT!
(And don't break our laws to get here!)
119 posted on 03/22/2003 7:15:47 AM PST by Thorondir
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To: Thorondir
Well, the Cubanos in my former neighborhood didn't like the invasion at all! They tried to pass a city ordinance forbidding public urination. (unneeded with any previous immigrant group). The 'newcomers' screamed 'racism' at the Cubans and the Cubans decided to vote with their feet. For that and other reasons the neighborhood is much much less Cuban than it used to be even 5 years ago. As much as this person defends them, they certainly don't consider him to be their 'friend'. To them he's another Gringo. Don't ask what they call black Cubans, it isn't nice.
120 posted on 03/22/2003 7:20:45 AM PST by Black Agnes
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