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."
LOL. Agreed.
And you have proof of this?
If you do, then report it to the Government Accounting Office.
They love to go after corrupt Government employees.
In Texas, worse things than being searched can happen to someone at least if they're trespassing on private land at night and the owner sees them as a threat.
It seems it should be a matter of protecting private property ----but not everyone can tell who is an illegal or not ---if someone is just walking down a road, another person doesn't have the right to detain them to find out if they're illegal. It's one thing if the border patrol stops you and starts asking their questions but you can't have everyone doing that and then if you don't answer they would grab you and take you in ----but protecting private property is another matter because no one has a right to be on it without permission.
That's the point - someone simply walking across private property does not in and of itself constitute a threat or a felony.
For citizens arrest to be legal, the offense has to rise to a felony, unless it is misdemeanor riot.
That is usually sound health advice. It really goes down to the matter of whether a citizens arrest is legal in cases of simple trespass where there is no attempt being made to break into structures or assault the property owner. I would be disinclined to detain in any way illegals crossing private property, and instead report their presence to the Border Patrol.
Both LEOs and private citizens are under the same restraint regarding use of lethal force, namely that they must be facing imminent danger from the person in order to use lethal force.
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