Posted on 08/09/2003 12:13:28 PM PDT by GoRepGo
Illegals held at gunpoint discuss ordeal
By Louie Villalobos Aug 9, 2003
SAN LUIS RIO COLORADO, Son. — The two female illegal immigrants who authorities said were detained at gunpoint by three American citizens a week ago said they initially thought the men were U.S. Border Patrol agents.
But when two of the men pointed guns at them and the three boys traveling with them, Lorena Ocampo said she knew something was wrong.
"(The Border Patrol) doesn't do that to women and children," she said.
More than a week after the incident, Ocampo, 26, her friend Guadalupe Lopez Rodriguez, 31, and the three boys were sent back to Mexico under the agreement that they would return at a later date to testify against Matthew Hoffman, 23, and Alexander Dumas, 26.
The men are each facing six counts of aggravated assault and five counts of unlawful imprisonment and one count of conspiracy to commit unlawful imprisonment, after the Yuma County Sheriff's Office said they handcuffed the group of illegal immigrants and held them at gunpoint until Border Patrol agents arrived.
Authorities said a third man, Martin Hoffman Jr., was with the two suspects but isn't facing charges because he was unarmed and didn't take part in the detention of the illegal immigrants.
Bond for Hoffman and Dumas was recently set at $68,000 and $88,000, respectively. The incident remains under investigation.
Both officials and the women said the incident began just after 1 a.m., a few minutes after the group entered illegally through the Colorado River at County 18th Street.
Rodriguez said they were traveling with a larger group that included the two women's husbands, but the smugglers decided to split everyone up to allow the children to cross at a shallow part of the river. The women said they wanted to go with their children.
"It wasn't that deep," Ocampo said of the river. "The kids crossed easily."
Minutes after crossing, the women said they heard a noise and were told to duck down behind some bushes by the 16-year-old smuggler who was guiding them. After waiting for a while, they decided it was safe to continue, Ocampo said.
"Then these men came out," she said. "I don't know where they came from."
The men started yelling directions in English and motioning the group to get on the ground, Ocampo said. At first, because one was wearing military-style clothes and they all hand handcuffs, the women thought they had been caught by agents and told their boys not to worry.
But when the guns were pointed at them, Ocampo knew the men weren't agents.
"We were all scared," she said. "We didn't know what they were yelling."
After Ocampo said the men handcuffed the women, the smuggler and two of the boys, a helicopter — which belonged to the Border Patrol — arrived at the scene and the men began to flag it down with a flashlight.
Soon after that, the women said agents arrived, uncuffed the group and put them in the back of their vehicles.
"(The agents) told us what those men did was against the law," Ocampo said.
After being taken to the Border Patrol's station house and being questioned about the incident, the women said they were kept in an area hotel and eventually given the option of staying in the United States until it was time for them to testify against the suspects.
Ocampo said they decided to return to Mexico because they are still scared that something will happen to them. She said the group will most likely not try another illegal entry into the United States because of the incident. Their husbands were caught and deported, Ocampo said.
She said they were headed to New York, where they planned to live with family members, get a job and put their children into public school.
Ocampo did promise to return when it came time to testify, though, saying she wants to make sure Hoffman and Dumas are punished.
"What they did was wrong," she said.
--- Louie Villalobos can be reached at lvillalobos@yumasun.com or 539-6858.
© Copyright, YumaSun.com
The three children who were held at gunpoint by Matthew Hoffman and Alexander Dumas sit in the back of a van waiting to be taken back to Mexico at the U.S. Port of Entry at San Luis, Ariz., Friday. Photo by Alfred J. Hernandez
They had good motivations but the path to hell is paved yadda yadda yadda.
I'm sure they are not. But their methods were over-the-top. You should only draw down on people who are a direct threat, unless you are a LEO.
When the dice are cast, I bet they get off with a non-punishment or a small one. That'll teach them to improve their techniques a little and they can go back to work supporting the border patrol.
That's really sad, man.
If I were you, I wouldn't be pointing out the weak points in your most revered document.
Yes.
Well, the first few books jibe with ours. So those ones are pretty cool.
Natural rights would mean the immigrants have a right to be armed and to protect themselves against aggravated assault and false imprisonment.
You should look up the definition of 'Vigilante", and then apply it to what is going on in the border area, before you post such ignorance.
To what point are you responding to? What are you trying to say?
Vigilantism can in fact erode justice, but only in the event that said vigilantism goes all the way to derivation of guilt and/or punishment. I am a lot more comfortable with vigilantism that goes only to detection of crime and apprehension.
Remember, mankind's very first police were self-appointed vigilantes themselves.
The greatest fear the feds have is that lots of other Americans who are tired of seeing their country invaded will start doing the job that the oafs in D.C. have been dodging for years. That just may start happening soon. Look at what's going on in California. Prop. 187 and the invasion issue are likely to be in the news big time during the recall campaign and election. In fact both were mentioned today on that show with George Stepho-whatchacallit. Americans are fed up with this nonsense.
Racist againist who? I'd like to see one science book that uses the term Hispanic as a race. This word hispanic has been hi-jacked by the left to beat-up on anyone who believes in indiviual freedoms and a constitutuinal republic. I work with Italian guys who are darker than Martin Scheen and V. Fox. Leftist use the word hispanic to make more victims.
My problem is with "MEXICAN NATIONALS" coming into this country. Sometimes descriptive words get throw out but so what. A racist would be banned from the FR so maybe it wasn't racism at all.
Nothing more dangerous than alot of angry peasants who are well armed.
I would hope something good comes out of this California recall. Exposing the immigration problem is long over due.
So if we had an anarchy, would we be allowed to protect our national borders and enforce laws against illegal immigration and tax evasion?
I'm tired of the social chaos and flagrant disregard of the law that exists under a republic. I think I'm ready to try the social stability and respect for law and order and citizen's rights that exists under anarchy.
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