16 illegals sue Arizona rancher

[Raith]

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/fe ... a-rancher/

16 illegals sue Arizona rancher
Claim violation of rights as they crossed his land
Jerry Seper
Monday, February 9, 2009

An Arizona man who has waged a 10-year campaign to stop a flood of illegal immigrants from crossing his property is being sued by 16 Mexican nationals who accuse him of conspiring to violate their civil rights when he stopped them at gunpoint on his ranch on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Roger Barnett, 64, began rounding up illegal immigrants in 1998 and turning them over to the U.S. Border Patrol, he said, after they destroyed his property, killed his calves and broke into his home.

His Cross Rail Ranch near Douglas, Ariz., is known by federal and county law enforcement authorities as "the avenue of choice" for immigrants seeking to enter the United States illegally.

Trial continues Monday in the federal lawsuit, which seeks $32 million in actual and punitive damages for civil rights violations, the infliction of emotional distress and other crimes. Also named are Mr. Barnett's wife, Barbara, his brother, Donald, and Larry Dever, sheriff in Cochise County, Ariz., where the Barnetts live. The civil trial is expected to continue until Friday.

The lawsuit is based on a March 7, 2004, incident in a dry wash on the 22,000-acre ranch, when he approached a group of illegal immigrants while carrying a gun and accompanied by a large dog.

Attorneys for the immigrants - five women and 11 men who were trying to cross illegally into the United States - have accused Mr. Barnett of holding the group captive at gunpoint, threatening to turn his dog loose on them and saying he would shoot anyone who tried to escape.

The immigrants are represented at trial by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), which also charged that Sheriff Dever did nothing to prevent Mr. Barnett from holding their clients at "gunpoint, yelling obscenities at them and kicking one of the women."

In the lawsuit, MALDEF said Mr. Barnett approached the group as the immigrants moved through his property, and that he was carrying a pistol and threatening them in English and Spanish. At one point, it said, Mr. Barnett's dog barked at several of the women and he yelled at them in Spanish, "My dog is hungry and he's hungry for buttocks."

The lawsuit said he then called his wife and two Border Patrol agents arrived at the site. It also said Mr. Barnett acknowledged that he had turned over 12,000 illegal immigrants to the Border Patrol since 1998.

In March, U.S. District Judge John Roll rejected a motion by Mr. Barnett to have the charges dropped, ruling there was sufficient evidence to allow the matter to be presented to a jury. Mr. Barnett's attorney, David Hardy, had argued that illegal immigrants did not have the same rights as U.S. citizens.

Mr. Barnett told The Washington Times in a 2002 interview that he began rounding up illegal immigrants after they started to vandalize his property, northeast of Douglas along Arizona Highway 80. He said the immigrants tore up water pumps, killed calves, destroyed fences and gates, stole trucks and broke into his home.

Some of his cattle died from ingesting the plastic bottles left behind by the immigrants, he said, adding that he installed a faucet on an 8,000-gallon water tank so the immigrants would stop damaging the tank to get water.

Mr. Barnett said some of the ranch´s established immigrant trails were littered with trash 10 inches deep, including human waste, used toilet paper, soiled diapers, cigarette packs, clothes, backpacks, empty 1-gallon water bottles, chewing-gum wrappers and aluminum foil - which supposedly is used to pack the drugs the immigrant smugglers give their "clients" to keep them running.

He said he carried a pistol during his searches for the immigrants and had a rifle in his truck "for protection" against immigrant and drug smugglers, who often are armed.

ASSOCIATED PRESS DEFENDANT: Roger Barnett said he had turned over 12,000 illegal immigrants to the Border Patrol since 1998.

A former Cochise County sheriff´s deputy who later was successful in the towing and propane business, Mr. Barnett spent $30,000 on electronic sensors, which he has hidden along established trails on his ranch. He searches the ranch for illegal immigrants in a pickup truck, dressed in a green shirt and camouflage hat, with his handgun and rifle, high-powered binoculars and a walkie-talkie.

His sprawling ranch became an illegal-immigration highway when the Border Patrol diverted its attention to several border towns in an effort to take control of the established ports of entry. That effort moved the illegal immigrants to the remote areas of the border, including the Cross Rail Ranch.

"This is my land. I´m the victim here," Mr. Barnett said. "When someone´s home and loved ones are in jeopardy and the government seemingly can´t do anything about it, I feel justified in taking matters into my own hands. And I always watch my back."

WTF

[**INFIDEL**]

Althou this Is not new, It just gives me a case of the ass everytime I read this shit . Its a sad state of affairs when Aliens have more rights than we do, and one day "Enough will be Enough"  :twisted:  :twisted:  :twisted:

[Altered_Soul]

LOL, WUT?

Wow, are lawyers running out of things to sue about or what? And here I thought suing McDonalds for hot coffee was the peak of absurd lawsuits.

[eggman998]

hmm this is quite frankly pathetic.  he wouldn't have had to stop them if they would have come into our f'ing country legally, or not at all.  so really in the end, it is their fault.

[Seedy]

Atleast they're staying home and going back in record numbers because of our economy.
BP caught the lowest number of illegal aliens last year since 1974 or something.

[Fat_Santa54]

Lets take a situation here, say I walk into a mans yard and start throwing rocks through his window, he comes out with a gun and the police come and arrest me. Guess what happens, I go to jail.. why? BECAUSE I BROKE THE MOTHERFUCKING LAW! So why then do Illegals who are breaking the law the minute they step foot onto us soil getting the right to sue this man? Now if he brutalized them or anything out of hate then thats another story, but as far as Im concerned hes just doing his job as a citizen of this country.

Another example, If I walk by a store and see some men have broken into it so i decide to do something. I call the police and then hold them at gun point untill the police arrive, would I get sued? '

and just on a complete tangent here, aside from all the other laws the illegals are breaking, Isnt the fact that someone is trespasing on his property enough for him to do what he's doing? and hey 12,000 illegal immagrants turned over to the BP, just how much money has he saved the state?

[eggman998]

and just on a complete tangent here, aside from all the other laws the illegals are breaking, Isnt the fact that someone is trespasing on his property enough for him to do what he's doing? and hey 12,000 illegal immagrants turned over to the BP, just how much money has he saved the state?

quite possibly near the amount of money involved in the lawsuit.

[corporalred]

this is fucking ridiculous, send all 16 of them back to MEXICO or charge them just like everyone else who breaks the law......Go Roger!!

[eggman998]

Go Roger!!

For The Win!

[Toast]

The first question I have are what are the rights that the illegal imigrants have by first breaching the border and second tresspassing on private
property. So you have civil rights just by being IN our country? Now you can sue because they were violated?
This is up there with the BS "rights" that inmates have. Seems like more than us.
In my legal uneducated opinion I'd say that Mr.Barnett was being patriotic and protecting his property from tresspassers however any
non violent action that involves a weapon to defend against changes the story, law wise. However the point that puts me over the edge is the
fact that some "group", the MALDEF is pursuing this in a federal court and probably doing it to make a name for themselves or the believe they
are helping the less fortunate. This group is the one to spew the hatred at. I'm sure they know of the man's history and are trying to punish someone
who I feel is defending our country from invaders. Law and emotions don't mix very well.

[Fat_Santa54]

^ what civil rights were broken? As far as I've read all the man did was intimidate them. Now if he was brutally beating them or torturing people that would be a different story, but scaring someone is not grounds for a lawsuit in my opinion.

"He come at us with dog and say if we run the dog eat us, he also have gun"......

[Altered_Soul]

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... 17-ON.html

Jury results.  He only has to pay 78,000.  Discuss.

[Fat_Santa54]

four claims of infliction of emotional distress.

biggest bullshit way people can get money, so in non-legal terms; the man scared them so they get $78,000. Is he goign to western union it down to their cousins?

[corporalred]

I bet those illegals are getting right of passage for the "trouble" he caused them...... boo fucking hoo

[**INFIDEL**]

This country has gone to shit.......... :twisted: