INS special agent found [shot] dead in car

Arizona Republic ^ | 16 March 2004 - 8:50pm | David J. Cieslak & Daniel Gonzalez

[Spiff]

The special agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Phoenix was found dead Tuesday in his government car north of Tucson, an apparent suicide victim.

Thomas DeRouchey, 45, interim special agent charged with dismantling violent criminal operations associated with immigrant smuggling, was on his way to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson to participate in a press conference announcing the federal government's latest efforts to stem the flow of illegal immigration.

[Spiff]

Very weird. This guy has been mentioned in several articles recently concerning the crackdown on several drophouses where hundreds and hundreds of illegals have been found. How many people shoot themselves while driving 75mph on the highway on the way to an appointment with their boss the U.S. border security czar?

[Hank Rearden]

Looks to me like a big scandal involving this guy is about to break the surface.

[gubamyster]

ping

[GeronL]

Its Vince Foster all over again!!

Nobody is going to shoot themselves while driving at 75mph!

[neb52]

I'm confused. Did he shoot himself before or after the crash? Just wierd.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

How many people shoot themselves while driving 75mph on the highway

It is definitely unusual.

[Shermy]

Strange one here.

[Spiff]

Interim Special Agent with Immigration Office Dies


(Tucson-AP) -- A federal immigration official from Phoenix has died.

The federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement office says 45-year-old Thomas DeRouchey died while en route to Tucson to attend a news conference concerning a new border control initiative.

Circumstances surrounding his death are under investigation, and authorities declined to release details immediately.

DeRouchey was named interim special agent in Phoenix last June, overseeing enforcement and investigative operations for I-C-E for central and northern Arizona, including Yuma.

DeRouchey joined the Border Patrol in 1988, then joined I-N-S' investigations division in 1991 in Los Angeles.

DeRouchey was single and was a member of the Cheyenne River Lakota Sioux Tribe and a U-S Army veteran.


Copyright 2004 Associated Press.

[SAMWolf]

Nothing to see here, just move along. < /sarcasm>

[Spiff]

Special Agent DeRouchey

[kcvl]

ICE Agent Dies


By Mindy Blake, News 13 Anchor
Posted 03/16/2004

The head of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Phoenix has died.

Thomas DeRouchey was interim special agent in charge of the ICE office in Phoenix. ICE is part of the Homeland Security Department.

A spokesman for the agency tells News 13 investigators are not releasing any information about DeRouchey's death other than to say there was an accident in Interstate Ten.

DeRouchey was 45-years-old. He was not married, and did not have children. He had been with the Phoenix ICE office for less than a year.

[shellylet]

Is it possible his gun discharged during the crash?

Freak accident?

[Spiff]

American Patrol website scooped everyone and broke the story today at 2:00pm here.

High-ranking ICE official reportedly dies in accident under suspicious circumstances

March 16, 2004 -- 2:04 pm Pacific -- American Patrol has been informed that a high-ranking official with BICE was killed this morning in a solo-vehicle accident in a city in the southwestern U.S. Although this has not been confirmed by American Patrol, the report received by our offices indicated that the official may have been the victim of a shooting.

[Psycho_Bunny]

Not that I wish to belittle the man's death but....."suicide victim"?

 

[NewRomeTacitus]

Backing what GeronL said. No way! This stinks of a hit with the cover-up effort in place before it was executed.

Drawing back, does this mean that human-smuggling and businesses dependent on sub-wage labor (i.e. not fit for real market competitiveness) have met and agreed on intimidation tactics? Spooky stuff when we need it least.

[nuconvert]

Wow.

If you're gonna kill yourself, don't take others with you. Pull off the road.

[spunkets]

Maybe he found the other kind of aliens. Maybe his gun was posessed by NY's Chuckie and the 'toon's beast Hilda.

[Defender2]

Wasn't he on a news special recently?

[oceanperch]

I smell a rotten fish here.

He was on his way to what should have been an upbeat event and he shoots himself?

I could buy firearm accidently discharging or maybe he was having a stroke or heartattack.

We don't have many diligent agents now we have one less.

Prayers for his loved ones.

[kcvl]

TUCSON -- FOX 11 News has learned that one of the highest ranking Homeland Security officials in Arizona is dead.



FOX 11 News
Thomas DeRouchey, interim director of the ICE office in Phoenix, was found dead. But mystery surrounds his death and both local and federal agencies are saying little.


Thomas DeRouchey, interim special agent in charge of the Phoenix Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was on the way to an announcement of a new federal border initiative by Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Asa Hutchinson at Davis Monthan Air Force Base.


DeRouchey was found dead in his car on Interstate 10 about a mile north of Tangerine Road. That is inside the Marana city limits.


"The firefighters did find him in a car in the median and he was deceased," said Katie Heiden, a spokesperson for Northwest Fire in Tucson.


Heiden confirmed that DeRouchey was alone in the car and a weapon was found in the car.


Michael J. Garcia, assistant secretary of ICE, issued a statement confirming the death and offering condolences to DeRouchey's family and friends.


Dr. Bruce Parks, Pima County Medical Examiner, refused to release any details of the death, but confirmed that he is investigating. Parks referred all comments to the Marana Police Department.


The Marana Police Department refused any comment, saying any information would have to come from ICE.


The announcement of a new border initiative by the Bush administration along the Arizona-Mexico border went on as scheduled Tuesday morning with no mention of DeRouchey's death.


ICE spokesperson Russell Ahr told the Associated Press that DeRouchey's death occurred in a "one vehicle accident", but local paramedics say they responded to a call of "gun shots" and not an accident. Ahr claimed there was damage to DeRouchey's vehicle.


DeRouchey had been a federal agent since 1988. He was named interim head of the Phoenix office of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office last summer. ICE is a part of the Department of Homeland Security. No mention of DeRouchey's death was made at the Homeland Security event at Davis Monthan Air Force Base on Tuesday where the assistant secretary announced a new initiative to deal with border issues over the next several months.