On Tuesday, October 30th, 2012 at 7:58 a.m. the Pinal County Sheriff's Office received a 9-1-1 call regarding a shooting which had occurred near the area of the “La Osa Ranch”which is located approximately 7 miles due west of the Red Rock residential community.
 
The 42-year-old victim told deputies he and two other individuals were from Hermosillo Sonora Mexico. They had crossed the border illegally approximately 10 days ago on foot. They were walking on a trail when they were confronted at about 1 a.m. by three armed subjects who were wearing camouflage clothing, black masks and were armed with semi-automatic handguns. The subjects were hiding in some bushes and jumped out when the victim and two other individuals approached.
 
The suspects spoke in Spanish and demanded their money. The victims gave the subjects their money. When the 42-year-old victim told the subjects they didn’t have any more money, one of the subjects began to pistol whip him in the face. The victim attempted to fight back but one of the other subjects shot him in the right leg. The two individuals who were with the victim fled into the desert for safety.
 
The victim reported he fell to the ground after the shooting and the subjects fled on foot to a vehicle they had waiting approximately 200 yards away. The victim’s friends eventually returned and helped him to a nearby road. The victim stayed at the road while his two friends fled back into the desert to avoid being arrested for being in the country illegally.
 
A local resident was driving down the road when he saw the victim and called 9-1-1. The victim was transported to a local hospital for injuries related to the shooting and pistol whipping he received. We were later informed by medical staff the victim did in fact receive several fractures to his face.
 
Deputies were able to locate the scene where the shooting took place. At the scene, they found blood and the victims shoes along with other evidence. One of the victims friends was located and confirmed what the victim had told investigators had occurred. The area was checked by PCSO and U.S. Border Patrol but none of the suspects were located.
 
The witness and victim in the case were later turned over to U.S. Border Patrol.
 
On October 31st, 2012 at 6:50 p.m. the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office received a 9-1-1 call from an unidentified Hispanic male stating he had been shot. PCSO Dispatch was able to determine the callers location based on the GPS provided by his phone. Deputies were able to locate the victim and another Hispanic male South of Interstate-8 near Smith Road. The victim and other individual were put into a patrol vehicle and driven to another location where the gunshot victim was treated by medical personnel for a wound to his buttocks. The victim was then transported by air ambulance to a trauma hospital.
 
The second Hispanic male told deputies, he and the victim were part of an 8 man backpacking crew carrying marijuana. The men had carried the marijuana from Mexico across the U.S. Border and were nearing Interstate-8. As the men approached Interstate-8, they were confronted by five Rip Crew members who ordered them in Spanish to drop their backpacks of marijuana. Four of the Rip Crew members were armed with rifles and one was armed with a handgun. As the eight fled on foot from the Rip Crew, at least one of the Rip Crew members opened fired on the group. The victim was shot in the buttocks as he was running away.
 
While searching the area for the Rip Crew and other backpackers, two additional Hispanic males were located. Both were interviewed and at first denied their involvement but later one of them admitted he was one of the backpackers carrying the marijuana when the group was robbed of the marijuana by a Rip Crew.
 
All three subjects were turned over to U.S. Border Patrol as they admitted they were in the United States illegally.
 
The crime scene was located in the desert near where the victim called 9-1-1 to report he had been shot. Evidence at the scene included blood, food and a small quantity of marijuana. An attempt to track sign to find the Rip Crew was made by PCSO SWAT and U.S. Border Patrol but it was not successful because of the heavy foot traffic in the area.
 
Sheriff Paul Babeu stated, “During a thirty-six hour period, deputies from the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office have investigated two separate robbery and shooting cases involving illegal immigrants and Rip Crews. During the first shooting, three Rip Crew members robbed the victims of their money and then pistol whipped and shot one of the victims. Last night, there was a group of eight illegal immigrants backpacking marijuana through the desert when they were confronted by five members of a Rip Crew. Once again the victims were robbed this time of their marijuana. As the victims fled for safety, one of them was shot in the buttocks. Last year Secretary Janet Napolitano who is in charge of our National Security told myself and other law enforcement leaders, the U.S./Mexico border can never be secured. Napolitano should be fired for her defeatist proclamation, which I and most Americans refuse to accept. We need new leaders for America that understand the threats of drug and human smuggling, yet more important is the graver national security threat presented from possible terrorist from countries of interest who will use the HOV lane here in Arizona to bring harm to America."