Two Oxnard residents were arrested in connection with a beating early Saturday that Ventura police are calling a hate crime.
Lowana Magdaleno, 21, Carlos Mendoza, 22, and two unidentified men allegedly confronted multiple victims about 2 a.m. in the 200 block of East Main Street, according to the Ventura Police Department.
One of the four yelled a racial slur at one of the victims while someone else hit him with a beer bottle, police said.
The assailants continued to beat the victims until someone at a local business intervened by calling 911.
Police said they arrested Magdaleno on suspicion of misdemeanor battery and violation of civil rights by fear or force.
Mendoza was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and was held at the Ventura County Jail Saturday.
The two unidentified men ran away before officers arrived. The victims were treated at the scene for cuts and bruises, police said.
Source: VenturaCountyStar
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Police: L.I. Man Charged With Biased Road Rage
OCEANSIDE, N.Y. -- A cement truck driver on Long Island faces bias-classified charges for tailgating, shouting racial slurs and threatening to beat a black driver with a pipe, police said.
Police said the white male suspect was arrested on charges of reckless endangerment, menacing and harassment.
All the charges were classified as bias crimes.
Police said the 44-year-old was driving on Long Beach Road in Oceanside on Wednesday when he began slamming on his horn and shouting racial slurs at a black driver who had passed him.
The white man then tailgated the black driver and forced his vehicle to the side of the road, where police said he threatened to strike him with a pipe.
Police said that the black driver pulled out his cell phone and the other man drove off.
Source: WNBC
Police said the white male suspect was arrested on charges of reckless endangerment, menacing and harassment.
All the charges were classified as bias crimes.
Police said the 44-year-old was driving on Long Beach Road in Oceanside on Wednesday when he began slamming on his horn and shouting racial slurs at a black driver who had passed him.
The white man then tailgated the black driver and forced his vehicle to the side of the road, where police said he threatened to strike him with a pipe.
Police said that the black driver pulled out his cell phone and the other man drove off.
Source: WNBC
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Officials call school attack a hate crime
By Melissa Pinion-Whitt, Wes Woods II and Tania Chatila, Staff Writers
Article Launched: 04/23/2008 11:18:52 PM PDT
SAN DIMAS - An Asian man was stabbed in the face and torso in an attack at Lone Hill Middle School on Tuesday night that sheriff's officials called a hate crime.
Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies said the attackers - a 15-year-old boy and a man in his 20s - shouted racial epithets while stabbing the man with a knife.
"They were shouting out `white power' or something like that," said sheriff's Lt. Roxanne Hart.
A white man who was walking with the 22-year-old victim at the school at 700 S. Lone Hill Ave. about 8:30 p.m. received cuts and bruises from being punched by the pair, Hart said.
Paramedics flew the Asian man to Los Angeles County- USC Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition Tuesday.
Deputies identified the 15-year-old suspect and arrested him. The second suspect was not in custody as of Wednesday evening, Hart said.
Hart could not confirm whether the attackers were members of a white supremacist group, but did say the sheriff's hate crimes task force is investigating.
"Hate crimes are definitely rare in our area," she said.
On Wednesday, officials from human rights groups also called the incident unusual.
"The stabbing in the face in San Dimas last night is pretty out of the ordinary," said Marshall Wong, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission.
In regard to violent attacks against Asians in L.A. County, Wong said in 2007 there was just one attempted murder as a hate crime committed against an Asian male.
"The only thing we had reported in San Dimas was an annoying phone call last year," Wong said.
The victim's ethnicity was not available Wednesday.
Lone Hill Principal Ray Arredondo said officials were not on campus when the attack occurred in a grassy area of the school grounds when the facility was closed.
"We will heighten security on campus just to make sure we have a peaceful day on campus," Arredondo said on Wednesday.
Melissa Smith, Bonita Unified School District's student support services director, said called the attack a "community incident, not a school-related incident."
"It's not something we're investigating because it wasn't part of a school event or district event," Smith said. "It's business as usual - the focus is on instruction and we have all the regular staff in place and all the regular kids in place."
Earlier this month, two men were sentenced to double-digit prison sentences for stabbing a black man in Claremont a year and half ago. Ryan Christopher White, 30, of Joshua Tree is to serve 13 years while Anthony Scott Allen, 24, of Big Bear City is to serve 10 years. Joseph Dale McCool, 21, of Redlands is awaiting sentencing.
The three men had planned to attend a white supremacist rally and passed through Claremont when they stabbed the victim in December 2006, officials said.
Mark Potok, director of the Intelligence Project for the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala., said academic studies show less than 5percent of hate crimes are committed by hate groups.
"It's much more likely to be an everyday person than a member of a white supremacist group," Potok said Wednesday.
Karin Wang, vice president of programs for the Asian Pacific American Legal Center in Los Angeles, said hate crimes against Asians have "historically spiked" based on current events. She was not familiar with the San Dimas incident.
Wong said after the Virginia Tech shooting committed by a Korean in 2007, there were hate crimes reported against Koreans in Los Angeles within a few days.
"But overall hate crimes targeting Asians tend to be acts of vandalism and criminal threats," Wong said.
Wang said her organization often takes calls from people who feel they've been harassed, assaulted or had their homes vandalized because of their race. She said there has been an increase of calls from the Inland Empire.
Wang said Asian families in the Inland Empire can be isolated, living farther away from larger pockets of Asians, which could cause the harassment.
tania.chatila@sgvn.com
(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2109
Source: PasadenaStarNews
Article Launched: 04/23/2008 11:18:52 PM PDT
SAN DIMAS - An Asian man was stabbed in the face and torso in an attack at Lone Hill Middle School on Tuesday night that sheriff's officials called a hate crime.
Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies said the attackers - a 15-year-old boy and a man in his 20s - shouted racial epithets while stabbing the man with a knife.
"They were shouting out `white power' or something like that," said sheriff's Lt. Roxanne Hart.
A white man who was walking with the 22-year-old victim at the school at 700 S. Lone Hill Ave. about 8:30 p.m. received cuts and bruises from being punched by the pair, Hart said.
Paramedics flew the Asian man to Los Angeles County- USC Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition Tuesday.
Deputies identified the 15-year-old suspect and arrested him. The second suspect was not in custody as of Wednesday evening, Hart said.
Hart could not confirm whether the attackers were members of a white supremacist group, but did say the sheriff's hate crimes task force is investigating.
"Hate crimes are definitely rare in our area," she said.
On Wednesday, officials from human rights groups also called the incident unusual.
"The stabbing in the face in San Dimas last night is pretty out of the ordinary," said Marshall Wong, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission.
In regard to violent attacks against Asians in L.A. County, Wong said in 2007 there was just one attempted murder as a hate crime committed against an Asian male.
"The only thing we had reported in San Dimas was an annoying phone call last year," Wong said.
The victim's ethnicity was not available Wednesday.
Lone Hill Principal Ray Arredondo said officials were not on campus when the attack occurred in a grassy area of the school grounds when the facility was closed.
"We will heighten security on campus just to make sure we have a peaceful day on campus," Arredondo said on Wednesday.
Melissa Smith, Bonita Unified School District's student support services director, said called the attack a "community incident, not a school-related incident."
"It's not something we're investigating because it wasn't part of a school event or district event," Smith said. "It's business as usual - the focus is on instruction and we have all the regular staff in place and all the regular kids in place."
Earlier this month, two men were sentenced to double-digit prison sentences for stabbing a black man in Claremont a year and half ago. Ryan Christopher White, 30, of Joshua Tree is to serve 13 years while Anthony Scott Allen, 24, of Big Bear City is to serve 10 years. Joseph Dale McCool, 21, of Redlands is awaiting sentencing.
The three men had planned to attend a white supremacist rally and passed through Claremont when they stabbed the victim in December 2006, officials said.
Mark Potok, director of the Intelligence Project for the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala., said academic studies show less than 5percent of hate crimes are committed by hate groups.
"It's much more likely to be an everyday person than a member of a white supremacist group," Potok said Wednesday.
Karin Wang, vice president of programs for the Asian Pacific American Legal Center in Los Angeles, said hate crimes against Asians have "historically spiked" based on current events. She was not familiar with the San Dimas incident.
Wong said after the Virginia Tech shooting committed by a Korean in 2007, there were hate crimes reported against Koreans in Los Angeles within a few days.
"But overall hate crimes targeting Asians tend to be acts of vandalism and criminal threats," Wong said.
Wang said her organization often takes calls from people who feel they've been harassed, assaulted or had their homes vandalized because of their race. She said there has been an increase of calls from the Inland Empire.
Wang said Asian families in the Inland Empire can be isolated, living farther away from larger pockets of Asians, which could cause the harassment.
tania.chatila@sgvn.com
(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2109
Source: PasadenaStarNews
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Many Hispanic students are targets of bullying in state
By Devona Walker
Staff Writer
Mayra Sigala lives in a two-bedroom mobile home on a remote road behind Frontier City. The door to her room is wrapped in red and pink Valentines Day paper. Cupids and hearts encase her name. At times, she seems amazingly mature for her age. At others, she seems more insecure than most 15-year-olds.
"We try to ignore it as much as we can, but it just gets worse and worse,” Mayra said about the racist slurs yelled at her in the crowded hallways of Edmond Memorial High School.
The first incident occurred in early November, within a week of the passage of House Bill 1804, Oklahoma's stringent immigration enforcement statute. A fellow student, a football player, yelled at her in the hallway.
"He kept calling me names,” she said. "He kept telling me to go back to Mexico. I tried to tell him that I was born here, but he didn't believe me.”
Other students laughed.
"I guess they all agreed with him,” she said. Mayra did not tell the principal. She feared he would not believe her. Instead, she told her Spanish teacher. A few other Hispanic students were experiencing the same thing, she said. They were told by the teacher that something would be done. But the behavior continued, Mayra said. School officials say the information was not passed on. They say if they had known, something would have been done. But they conceded there have been issues in the past.
"It's obvious there were some issues we needed to address, otherwise we wouldn't have started native speaker's class,” said Brenda Lyons, associate superintendent with the Edmond School District. "Do we have bullying? Of course we do ... There's not any more than the norm with any other group.”
The native speaker's class started a few years back at Edmond Memorial. It's a class that blends learning the mechanics of the Spanish language with providing social support to Spanish-speakers.
Bullying at other schools
The problem isn't specific to Edmond Memorial High School. Community leaders say this school year has been noticeably difficult for many first-generation students. Many students have to translate and navigate cultural complexities for their parents; the language barrier means their parents are unable to advocate for them at school. Rey Madrid, youth organizer for the League of United Latin American Citizens, says Hispanic youth are reporting these things across the metro area. It's something all the children of the youth council speak freely about when they meet. The head of the youth council told him she has been targeted because of her race at Westmoore High School.
"These children are getting bullied and they are getting angry,” he said. Madrid warned that for some kids bullying pushes them to drop out, join gangs or use drugs.
"Whenever kids at school pick on somebody, that child that gets picked on is going to look for security,” he said. "Kids don't always know how to work things out for themselves, and they turn to gangs for security. They turn to drugs to ease the pain.”
‘Supposed to be here'
Mayra Sigala was born in Oklahoma. Her parents were granted amnesty in 1986, as part of the Immigration Reform and Control Act signed by President Reagan.
The act made it illegal to knowingly hire or recruit undocumented immigrants, required employers to attest to their employees' immigration status, and granted amnesty to undocumented immigrants who entered the United States before 1982 and had resided there continuously.
Contributing: Staff Writer Jesse Oliverez.
NewsOK
Staff Writer
Mayra Sigala lives in a two-bedroom mobile home on a remote road behind Frontier City. The door to her room is wrapped in red and pink Valentines Day paper. Cupids and hearts encase her name. At times, she seems amazingly mature for her age. At others, she seems more insecure than most 15-year-olds.
"We try to ignore it as much as we can, but it just gets worse and worse,” Mayra said about the racist slurs yelled at her in the crowded hallways of Edmond Memorial High School.
The first incident occurred in early November, within a week of the passage of House Bill 1804, Oklahoma's stringent immigration enforcement statute. A fellow student, a football player, yelled at her in the hallway.
"He kept calling me names,” she said. "He kept telling me to go back to Mexico. I tried to tell him that I was born here, but he didn't believe me.”
Other students laughed.
"I guess they all agreed with him,” she said. Mayra did not tell the principal. She feared he would not believe her. Instead, she told her Spanish teacher. A few other Hispanic students were experiencing the same thing, she said. They were told by the teacher that something would be done. But the behavior continued, Mayra said. School officials say the information was not passed on. They say if they had known, something would have been done. But they conceded there have been issues in the past.
"It's obvious there were some issues we needed to address, otherwise we wouldn't have started native speaker's class,” said Brenda Lyons, associate superintendent with the Edmond School District. "Do we have bullying? Of course we do ... There's not any more than the norm with any other group.”
The native speaker's class started a few years back at Edmond Memorial. It's a class that blends learning the mechanics of the Spanish language with providing social support to Spanish-speakers.
Bullying at other schools
The problem isn't specific to Edmond Memorial High School. Community leaders say this school year has been noticeably difficult for many first-generation students. Many students have to translate and navigate cultural complexities for their parents; the language barrier means their parents are unable to advocate for them at school. Rey Madrid, youth organizer for the League of United Latin American Citizens, says Hispanic youth are reporting these things across the metro area. It's something all the children of the youth council speak freely about when they meet. The head of the youth council told him she has been targeted because of her race at Westmoore High School.
"These children are getting bullied and they are getting angry,” he said. Madrid warned that for some kids bullying pushes them to drop out, join gangs or use drugs.
"Whenever kids at school pick on somebody, that child that gets picked on is going to look for security,” he said. "Kids don't always know how to work things out for themselves, and they turn to gangs for security. They turn to drugs to ease the pain.”
‘Supposed to be here'
Mayra Sigala was born in Oklahoma. Her parents were granted amnesty in 1986, as part of the Immigration Reform and Control Act signed by President Reagan.
The act made it illegal to knowingly hire or recruit undocumented immigrants, required employers to attest to their employees' immigration status, and granted amnesty to undocumented immigrants who entered the United States before 1982 and had resided there continuously.
Contributing: Staff Writer Jesse Oliverez.
NewsOK
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Colo. lawmaker removed from podium over Mexicans remark
Apr 21 04:24 PM US/Eastern
By STEVEN K. PAULSON
Associated Press Writer
DENVER (AP) - A Colorado legislator known for kicking a photographer was ordered to leave the podium of the state House of Representatives on Monday because he called Mexican workers "illiterate peasants." State Rep. Douglas Bruce, who has a history of provoking controversy, made the comment during debate on a bill that would allow the state to help immigrant workers get temporary federal visas. The measure is intended to ease a shortage of farm workers in the state.
"I would like to have the opportunity to state at the microphone why I don't think we need 5,000 more illiterate peasants in Colorado," Bruce said.
His outburst drew an audible gasp from the House.
"How dare you," said state Rep. Kathleen Curry, a Democrat who was serving as chairwoman during the debate. She told the Republican lawmaker he was no longer recognized to speak.
House Minority Leader Mike May, head of the GOP caucus, said legislative leaders were trying to determine what action to take against Bruce.
Rep. Terrance Carroll, a Democrat, said the remark could result in a formal ethics complaint that would require a hearing and possible suspension, censure or expulsion.
Bruce remained on the House floor Monday afternoon and was unavailable for comment.
He became the first Colorado lawmaker censured by the House after he kicked a newspaper photographer for taking his picture during a prayer.
Republicans later removed him from the powerful State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee because he refused to co-sponsor a resolution honoring military veterans. Bruce said he believed resolutions were a waste of time because they have no legal effect.
The Mexican Consulate in Denver did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Source: Yahoo
By STEVEN K. PAULSON
Associated Press Writer
DENVER (AP) - A Colorado legislator known for kicking a photographer was ordered to leave the podium of the state House of Representatives on Monday because he called Mexican workers "illiterate peasants." State Rep. Douglas Bruce, who has a history of provoking controversy, made the comment during debate on a bill that would allow the state to help immigrant workers get temporary federal visas. The measure is intended to ease a shortage of farm workers in the state.
"I would like to have the opportunity to state at the microphone why I don't think we need 5,000 more illiterate peasants in Colorado," Bruce said.
His outburst drew an audible gasp from the House.
"How dare you," said state Rep. Kathleen Curry, a Democrat who was serving as chairwoman during the debate. She told the Republican lawmaker he was no longer recognized to speak.
House Minority Leader Mike May, head of the GOP caucus, said legislative leaders were trying to determine what action to take against Bruce.
Rep. Terrance Carroll, a Democrat, said the remark could result in a formal ethics complaint that would require a hearing and possible suspension, censure or expulsion.
Bruce remained on the House floor Monday afternoon and was unavailable for comment.
He became the first Colorado lawmaker censured by the House after he kicked a newspaper photographer for taking his picture during a prayer.
Republicans later removed him from the powerful State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee because he refused to co-sponsor a resolution honoring military veterans. Bruce said he believed resolutions were a waste of time because they have no legal effect.
The Mexican Consulate in Denver did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Source: Yahoo
Sunday, April 13, 2008
MALDEF, ACLU and Otero County Sheriff's Department Resolve Civil Rights Suit
Sheriff’s Department Agrees to Revise Operational Procedures Concerning Immigrants
April 9, 2008
LAS CRUCES, NM— The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico today announced a landmark settlement with the Otero County Sheriff’s Department that addresses what plaintiffs alleged were civil rights violations committed by county deputies during immigration sweeps last September in the southern New Mexico town of Chaparral. Civil rights advocates say the agreement will help restore community trust in local law enforcement and greatly improve the safety of all people living in the County.
The case settled after the Sheriff's Department agreed to revise Operational Procedures that are intended to ensure that the rights of all Latinos living in the County would be protected and that they would not become the targets of immigration-related investigations and detentions without justification. Otero County also agreed to pay the families who brought the case monetary damages and an amount to cover their attorney's fees and the costs of the suit.
ACLU Executive Director Peter Simonson said, “The sheriff’s department worked with us to draft a policy that draws clear boundaries around what are and what are not the responsibilities of local law enforcement officers when they encounter immigrants. It was drafted with one thing in mind: maximizing public safety. This is a smart policy that stands as an example to all other law enforcement agencies around the state.”
On behalf of five Latino families, MALDEF and the ACLU of New Mexico alleged in the lawsuit that sheriff’s deputies raided homes in Chaparral without search warrants, interrogated families without evidence of criminal activity, and targeted households on the basis of race and ethnicity.
The Sheriff's Department denied any wrongdoing, but agreed to revise policies in order to provide more effective law enforcement to its constituents and to focus its attention on persons suspected of committing crimes.
David Urias, MALDEF Staff Attorney and counsel in the case, said, “The agreement by the Sheriffs Department to revise their procedures means that Latinos in Otero County will be protected by local police from crimes, not randomly targeted for immigration enforcement.”
The Otero County Sheriff’s Department operational procedure regarding the legal complaint and other relevant documents can be found online.
For more information contact:
Whitney Potter, ACLU of New Mexico: (505) 507-9898
Laura Rodriguez, MALDEF: (310) 956-2425
Source: MALDEF
April 9, 2008
LAS CRUCES, NM— The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico today announced a landmark settlement with the Otero County Sheriff’s Department that addresses what plaintiffs alleged were civil rights violations committed by county deputies during immigration sweeps last September in the southern New Mexico town of Chaparral. Civil rights advocates say the agreement will help restore community trust in local law enforcement and greatly improve the safety of all people living in the County.
The case settled after the Sheriff's Department agreed to revise Operational Procedures that are intended to ensure that the rights of all Latinos living in the County would be protected and that they would not become the targets of immigration-related investigations and detentions without justification. Otero County also agreed to pay the families who brought the case monetary damages and an amount to cover their attorney's fees and the costs of the suit.
ACLU Executive Director Peter Simonson said, “The sheriff’s department worked with us to draft a policy that draws clear boundaries around what are and what are not the responsibilities of local law enforcement officers when they encounter immigrants. It was drafted with one thing in mind: maximizing public safety. This is a smart policy that stands as an example to all other law enforcement agencies around the state.”
On behalf of five Latino families, MALDEF and the ACLU of New Mexico alleged in the lawsuit that sheriff’s deputies raided homes in Chaparral without search warrants, interrogated families without evidence of criminal activity, and targeted households on the basis of race and ethnicity.
The Sheriff's Department denied any wrongdoing, but agreed to revise policies in order to provide more effective law enforcement to its constituents and to focus its attention on persons suspected of committing crimes.
David Urias, MALDEF Staff Attorney and counsel in the case, said, “The agreement by the Sheriffs Department to revise their procedures means that Latinos in Otero County will be protected by local police from crimes, not randomly targeted for immigration enforcement.”
The Otero County Sheriff’s Department operational procedure regarding the legal complaint and other relevant documents can be found online.
For more information contact:
Whitney Potter, ACLU of New Mexico: (505) 507-9898
Laura Rodriguez, MALDEF: (310) 956-2425
Source: MALDEF
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Athens School 'Attack' Proven To Be False, Girl To Be Charged
There are major new developments today in the case of a supposed beating of a student from Athens Middle School.
Charges are being filed against 13 year old Melanie Bowers by Athens ISD through the Henderson County District Attorney's office for filing a false report, said AISD officials today.
Bowers claimed earlier this week that she was beaten and threatened - with killing and rape, no less - by a group of students at Athens ISD last Friday, for creating a protest sign saying, "If you love our nation, stop illegal immigration."
After Melanie's accusations, administrators reviewed school survellience videotape of the incident - which, instead of showing students beating or attacking her, showed Bowers scratching herself on her arms, face, and neck, and walking through the halls of the school calmly long after she claimed the incident happened.
After Melanie's parents were presented with that information and the video, the school confronted Melanie, and she admitted that she made the story up.
The poster was indeed taken from Melanie, but she reported the incident to a teacher and was sent back to class. 3 students involved in taking Melanie's project were in 'in school suspension' for today only.
Bowers' parents have apologized to school administrators for their daughter, and Bowers' father, Gary Bower Jr., is agreeing with the charges against her. "I have reviewed the recording and agree with the charges that will need to be filed," he has said today.
Melanie's mother, Shera Bowers, released a statement which reads, "I see my daughter was not assaulted, and put the marks on her body. No gang violence as witnessed. She filed a false report."
KLTV 7 News will have video of the tape from Athens ISD tonight on KLTV 7 News at 5:00, 6:00, and 10:00 pm.
Cathryn Khalil, reporting. ckhalil@kltv.com
Source: KLTV
Original story: KLTV
Video: BreitBart
Charges are being filed against 13 year old Melanie Bowers by Athens ISD through the Henderson County District Attorney's office for filing a false report, said AISD officials today.
Bowers claimed earlier this week that she was beaten and threatened - with killing and rape, no less - by a group of students at Athens ISD last Friday, for creating a protest sign saying, "If you love our nation, stop illegal immigration."
After Melanie's accusations, administrators reviewed school survellience videotape of the incident - which, instead of showing students beating or attacking her, showed Bowers scratching herself on her arms, face, and neck, and walking through the halls of the school calmly long after she claimed the incident happened.
After Melanie's parents were presented with that information and the video, the school confronted Melanie, and she admitted that she made the story up.
The poster was indeed taken from Melanie, but she reported the incident to a teacher and was sent back to class. 3 students involved in taking Melanie's project were in 'in school suspension' for today only.
Bowers' parents have apologized to school administrators for their daughter, and Bowers' father, Gary Bower Jr., is agreeing with the charges against her. "I have reviewed the recording and agree with the charges that will need to be filed," he has said today.
Melanie's mother, Shera Bowers, released a statement which reads, "I see my daughter was not assaulted, and put the marks on her body. No gang violence as witnessed. She filed a false report."
KLTV 7 News will have video of the tape from Athens ISD tonight on KLTV 7 News at 5:00, 6:00, and 10:00 pm.
Cathryn Khalil, reporting. ckhalil@kltv.com
Source: KLTV
Original story: KLTV
Video: BreitBart
Saturday, April 05, 2008
White supremacist gets life for killing 7-Eleven Clerk
(04-03) 10:05 PDT Santa Ana, CA (AP) --
A self-described white supremacist who plunged a hunting knife into the heart of a 7-Eleven clerk during a botched robbery has been sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.
Spencer William Fox and Travis Justin Frazier were seen attacking clerk Shurest Dass on surveillance tape in the convenience store. Frazier clubbed the clerk repeatedly before Fox pierced the man's heart with a knife.
Besides first-degree murder convictions last month, Fox and Frazier were convicted of using deadly weapons and carrying out the act during the commission of another crime.
Frazier will be sentenced May 9.
Source: SFGate
A self-described white supremacist who plunged a hunting knife into the heart of a 7-Eleven clerk during a botched robbery has been sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.
Spencer William Fox and Travis Justin Frazier were seen attacking clerk Shurest Dass on surveillance tape in the convenience store. Frazier clubbed the clerk repeatedly before Fox pierced the man's heart with a knife.
Besides first-degree murder convictions last month, Fox and Frazier were convicted of using deadly weapons and carrying out the act during the commission of another crime.
Frazier will be sentenced May 9.
Source: SFGate
KKK plan has townsfolk worried
Bell County, KY
April 04, 2008
Residents of Pineville, a southeastern Kentucky town of 2,100, are upset that the Appalachian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is saying it will hold a three-day rally there.
'The biggest question is why are they coming to Bell County?' Mayor Bob Madon said.
The Appalachian Knights printed on its blog that it is hosting the three-day event called Aryan Bash 2008, starting April 11, with a half-dozen other white-supremacist groups. 'The event is open to all whites wanting to attend,' the KKK said.
The news has been the talk of the town. On the Middlesboro Daily News Web site, a story about the event had 131 comments, which were overwhelmingly negative. Commenters feared bad publicity for the town and violence.
No violence will be tolerated, Madon said. City police, Bell County sheriff's deputies and the Kentucky State Police will be on hand to maintain order if the rally does indeed occur. And the Kentucky National Guard is only a phone call away, the mayor said.
The courthouse is a public place and the KKK has a constitutional right to demonstrate there, Madon said. But it will not be allowed to hold a three-day rally.
'One hour for one day is fair,' said Madon, citing the cost of having police on guard for 72 consecutive hours.
The Appalachian Knights does not list contact information on its blog. It said in a post that it does not grant news media interviews.
Madon said the Klan will not be allowed to incite violence or disrupt businesses.
Pineville does not require permits for holding demonstrations, and the Klan has not inquired about one. Madon doesn't think the Klan will actually show up. He said they never appeared for a recent event they were scheduled to hold in Pikeville.
The Klan held rallies in Middlesboro and Pineville six years ago. Madon said there were no arrests or violence.
Counterdemonstrators would be kept away to avoid violence.
Madon said his phone has constantly been ringing since he wrote a column in the Daily News on Thursday.
Despite the concerns, Madon said he does not think the rally should reflect poorly on Pineville residents, who are about 93 percent white, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Web site.
'We've been so fortunate to have wonderful black people,' Madon said.
Source: Topix
April 04, 2008
Residents of Pineville, a southeastern Kentucky town of 2,100, are upset that the Appalachian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is saying it will hold a three-day rally there.
'The biggest question is why are they coming to Bell County?' Mayor Bob Madon said.
The Appalachian Knights printed on its blog that it is hosting the three-day event called Aryan Bash 2008, starting April 11, with a half-dozen other white-supremacist groups. 'The event is open to all whites wanting to attend,' the KKK said.
The news has been the talk of the town. On the Middlesboro Daily News Web site, a story about the event had 131 comments, which were overwhelmingly negative. Commenters feared bad publicity for the town and violence.
No violence will be tolerated, Madon said. City police, Bell County sheriff's deputies and the Kentucky State Police will be on hand to maintain order if the rally does indeed occur. And the Kentucky National Guard is only a phone call away, the mayor said.
The courthouse is a public place and the KKK has a constitutional right to demonstrate there, Madon said. But it will not be allowed to hold a three-day rally.
'One hour for one day is fair,' said Madon, citing the cost of having police on guard for 72 consecutive hours.
The Appalachian Knights does not list contact information on its blog. It said in a post that it does not grant news media interviews.
Madon said the Klan will not be allowed to incite violence or disrupt businesses.
Pineville does not require permits for holding demonstrations, and the Klan has not inquired about one. Madon doesn't think the Klan will actually show up. He said they never appeared for a recent event they were scheduled to hold in Pikeville.
The Klan held rallies in Middlesboro and Pineville six years ago. Madon said there were no arrests or violence.
Counterdemonstrators would be kept away to avoid violence.
Madon said his phone has constantly been ringing since he wrote a column in the Daily News on Thursday.
Despite the concerns, Madon said he does not think the rally should reflect poorly on Pineville residents, who are about 93 percent white, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Web site.
'We've been so fortunate to have wonderful black people,' Madon said.
Source: Topix
White Supremacist Held On $2.5 Million Bail
A former wanted fugitive of Ventura County, was served with an indictment on Wednesday by Senior Deputy District Attorney Karen Wold. According to the Ventura County Star, Wold slid the Grand Jury's Indictment through the bars of Ian Eugene Morrow's holding cell during his Wednesday court appearance.
Morrow has been accused of attacking an employee at a Ventura County bar during August of 2005. He was charged with a felony and with a hate crime enhancement because of the racial slurs he allegedly yelled out while attacking the Hispanic man.
Morrow has also been accused of making criminal threats against a Simi Valley resident while he was out on bail in 2007.
A Jan. 11th, 2008 court appearance had been scheduled for Morrow, he did not appear. Once he failed to make his court appointment, Ventura County authorities issued a warrant for his arrest and labeled him a dangerous fugitive on the run.
In February, Morrow's luck spoiled when authorities in Nevada arrested him and he was transported back to California. Currently Morrow is being held on $2.5 million bail and if convicted of all the charges against him, he will face over 40 years in prison.
Source: KEYT
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Lou Dobbs - Racist Remark "Cotton Picking"
Lou Dobbs makes a racist Freudian slip remark while talking about the remarks Condoleezza Rice made about race on "The Situation Room" - March 28, 2008.
Lou Dobbs began to utter the phrase Cotton-Picking mind(s) when talking about Condoleeza Rice but caught himself after saying "Cotton". He fumbled for words and switch to "politicians".
Lou Dobbs has not commented on his remarks as of yet.
Peter Lynch guilty of destroying Mexican flag
A man who admitted lowering and tearing up a Mexican flag that was flying by itself on the UNM campus last September has been found guilty by a jury of criminal damage to property.
Peter Lynch received a deferred six-month sentence on supervised probation. He also must perform 48 hours of community service, attend anger management, replace the flag and pay court and probation fees.
In closing arguments Wednesday morning, the defense argued that Peter Lynch's action should be protected under the first amendment.
The prosecution noted that the flag was not Lynch's to damage. It said the fact that Lynch admitted to taking the flag down and then destroying it required the jury to return a guilty verdict.
On Tuesday, Lieutenant Pat Davis of the UNM Police Department testified that when Lynch saw the Mexican flag flying without an American flag, he first reported it to the office of UNM’s Dean of Students, then to the Officer of Veteran Affairs, but wasn’t satisfied with the response.
Davis says Lynch, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, then began to take the flag down as others gathered nearby.
“At least one person encouraged him by saying, ‘Yeah, brother, go ahead,’ and ‘Thank you,’ and some other things he heard in the background,” Davis says Lynch explained.
Davis says that Lynch told him he then became emotional and “took the flag in his hands and ripped it in half.”
UNM ROTC students admit that they had neglected to lower the Mexican banner when they lowered the U.S. flag at sunset last September because they thought a Mexican student organization would do that.
Davis said that Lynch told officers that the lone Mexican flag flying without an U.S. flag “could be perceived as a sign of war or that the territory had been taken over by another country and he felt it was his obligation to remove the flag and enforce that code.”
Davis says that, in the end, Lynch told police that his emotions got the better of him.
“He knew it was wrong,” Davis testified, “he shouldn’t have done it, but he just got caught up in the emotion of the moment and thought [what he did] was appropriate at the time.”
Source: KOB
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Fox's Sean Hannity Confronted Over Relationship with Neo-Nazi Hal Turner
Turner: "I can tell you from my firsthand, personal experience that Sean Hannity does, in fact, agree with many of my political and social views."
The folks over at NewsHounds have been watching their Fox News Channel quarry dither over Senator Barack Obama's associations with pastor Jeremiah Wright, and noted Fox's own Sean Hannity getting himself tripped up in the guilt-by-association tango. Seems that one of Hannity's close chums is a neo-Nazi named Hal Turner who used to be a radio host, is apparently the top man in Bergen, NJ white-supremacist circles, and probably spends a lot of his time in his basement with Star Wars action figures acting out Holocaust-denier versions of The Return of the Jedi. In short, just the sort of person with whom you'd imagine Sean Hannity spends a lot of formational time with.
Anyway, a few days ago, Hannity brought Malik Shabazz of the New Black Panther Party on the show. Shabazz and his organization had previously chosen to endorse Barack Obama, who subsequently rejected the endorsement. It was up to Hannity to make some hay out of this, but the tables got turned very quickly. From NewsHounds:
Hannity added, "What I don't think you're understanding here, Malik, is that when you hear the minister of him for 20 years, when you hear the associations with Louis Farrakhan, one of the biggest racists and anti-Semites in the country, what you're not understanding is, America hears extremism at its worst."
Shabazz responded, "Let me ask you this. Are you to be judged by your promotion and association with Hal Turner?"
Hannity waved his arm around. "I don't know anybody named - this is nonsense. I don't..." Then Hannity changed his tune. "Sir, sir... That was a man that was banned from my radio show ten years ago, that ran a Senate campaign in New Jersey."
Then, as Shabazz refused to stop talking or back down, Hannity, in a tacit admission, said, "I'm not running for president."
"A neo Nazi, you backed his career," Shabazz said.
Hannity answered, "That is an absolute, positive, lie and you've been reading the wrong websites..., my friend. Good try."
Well, there's plenty of evidence to the contrary (Max Blumenthal's piece in Nation is good for a start), but it hardly matters, because don't you know, days later, Turner himself was doing his pal a total solid by coming out and stating, "Oh, yeah! We're best of buds!"
I was quite disappointed when Sean Hannity at first tried to say he didn't know me and then went on to say that I ran some senate campaign in New Jersey. In fact, Sean Hannity does know me and we were quite friendly a number of years ago.
When Hannity took over Bob Grant's spot on 77 WABC in New York City, I was a well-known, regular and welcome caller to his show. Through those calls, Sean and I got to know each other a bit and at some point, I can't remember exactly when, Sean gave me the secret "Guest call-in number" at WABC so that my calls could always get on the air.
I mean, Hannity gave Turner his Super Secret Little Anti-Semite Annie Decoder Ring so he could call him up whenever he wanted to! If the two men had been younger - and mentally eligible for a high school education - they surely would have gone to prom together!
Anyway, Turner and Hannity have a nice, long, intimate, chummy history, and Turner offers the essential blow-by-blow. "I can tell you from my firsthand, personal experience that Sean Hannity does, in fact, agree with many of my political and social views. I can also tell you that Sean Hannity disagrees with some of my political and social views. I won't go subject-by-subject to say which he agrees with and which he disagrees with. You can figure that out easy enough on your own!" Can we? What if we're not enthusiastic fans of the thought processes of nimrods, though?
Naturally, Turner has got a blustery warning for us all: "Another big difference is that I am perfectly willing to use force and violence against my enemies while Sean Hannity and others are not. Those using me as a prop to attack Sean Hannity would do well to remember this fact. Rest assured I will remember them when the opportunity presents itself; especially as it pertains to that douche bag sodomite Max Blumenthal for the falsehoods and total trash he wrote about me in 'The Nation' magazine."
Source: Alternet
Monday, March 24, 2008
Harvard Study: Immigration Reduces Crime Rates
LiveScience.com Tue Mar 18, 4:11 PM ET
Contrary to popular stereotypes, areas undergoing immigration are associated with lower violence, not spiraling crime, according to a new study.
Harvard University sociologist Robert Sampson examined crime and immigration in Chicago and around the United States to find the truth behind the popular perception that increasing immigration leads to crime.
Sampson's study results, detailed in the winter issue of the American Sociological Association's Contexts magazine, summarizes patterns from seven years' worth of violent acts in Chicago committed by whites, blacks and Hispanics from 180 neighborhoods of varying levels of integration. He also analyzed recent data from police records and the U.S. Census for all communities in Chicago.
Based on assumptions that immigrants are more likely to commit crimes and settle in poor, disorganized communities, prevailing wisdom holds that the concentration of immigrants and an influx of foreigners drive up crime rates.
However, Sampson shows that concentrated immigration predicts lower rates of violence across communities in Chicago, with the relationship strongest in poor neighborhoods.
Not only does immigration appear to be "protective" against violence in poverty areas, violence was significantly lower among Mexican-Americans compared to blacks and whites. Sampson refers to this as the "Latino Paradox," whereby Hispanic Americans do better on a range of social indicators - including propensity to violence - than one would expect, given their socioeconomic disadvantages.
Sampson's analysis also revealed that first-generation immigrants were 45 percent less likely to commit violence than third-generation Americans. Controlling for immigrant generation even narrowed the violence gap between whites and blacks in Chicago by 14 percent.
"The pattern of immigrant generational status and lower crime rates is not restricted to Latinos; it extends to help explain white-black differences as well," Sampson said. "We're so used to thinking about immigrant assimilation that we've failed to fully appreciate how immigrants themselves shape their host society."
Immigration is therefore not just a Hispanic issue; although little noticed, increasing foreign-born diversity among blacks (e.g., from the West Indies and Africa) is associated with lower crime even within segregated black communities.
Sampson's arguments are supported at the national level as well. Significant immigration growth - including by illegal aliens - occurred in the mid-1990s, peaking at the end of the decade. During this time, the national homicide rate plunged. Crime dropped even in immigration hot spots, such as Los Angeles (where it dropped 45 percent overall), San Jose, Dallas and Phoenix.
Reasons commonly cited for the apparent paradox of first generation immigrants, especially Mexicans, are motivation to work, ambition and a desire not to be deported, characteristics that predispose them to low crime. Sampson also argues that contemporary immigrants tend to come from a multitude of cultures around the world where violence isn't rewarded as a strategy for establishing reputation or preserving honor, as in American "street culture."
"In today's society," Sampson said, "immigration and the increasing cultural diversity that accompanies it generate the sort of conflicts of culture that lead not to increased crime but nearly the opposite."
Source: Yahoo
Contrary to popular stereotypes, areas undergoing immigration are associated with lower violence, not spiraling crime, according to a new study.
Harvard University sociologist Robert Sampson examined crime and immigration in Chicago and around the United States to find the truth behind the popular perception that increasing immigration leads to crime.
Sampson's study results, detailed in the winter issue of the American Sociological Association's Contexts magazine, summarizes patterns from seven years' worth of violent acts in Chicago committed by whites, blacks and Hispanics from 180 neighborhoods of varying levels of integration. He also analyzed recent data from police records and the U.S. Census for all communities in Chicago.
Based on assumptions that immigrants are more likely to commit crimes and settle in poor, disorganized communities, prevailing wisdom holds that the concentration of immigrants and an influx of foreigners drive up crime rates.
However, Sampson shows that concentrated immigration predicts lower rates of violence across communities in Chicago, with the relationship strongest in poor neighborhoods.
Not only does immigration appear to be "protective" against violence in poverty areas, violence was significantly lower among Mexican-Americans compared to blacks and whites. Sampson refers to this as the "Latino Paradox," whereby Hispanic Americans do better on a range of social indicators - including propensity to violence - than one would expect, given their socioeconomic disadvantages.
Sampson's analysis also revealed that first-generation immigrants were 45 percent less likely to commit violence than third-generation Americans. Controlling for immigrant generation even narrowed the violence gap between whites and blacks in Chicago by 14 percent.
"The pattern of immigrant generational status and lower crime rates is not restricted to Latinos; it extends to help explain white-black differences as well," Sampson said. "We're so used to thinking about immigrant assimilation that we've failed to fully appreciate how immigrants themselves shape their host society."
Immigration is therefore not just a Hispanic issue; although little noticed, increasing foreign-born diversity among blacks (e.g., from the West Indies and Africa) is associated with lower crime even within segregated black communities.
Sampson's arguments are supported at the national level as well. Significant immigration growth - including by illegal aliens - occurred in the mid-1990s, peaking at the end of the decade. During this time, the national homicide rate plunged. Crime dropped even in immigration hot spots, such as Los Angeles (where it dropped 45 percent overall), San Jose, Dallas and Phoenix.
Reasons commonly cited for the apparent paradox of first generation immigrants, especially Mexicans, are motivation to work, ambition and a desire not to be deported, characteristics that predispose them to low crime. Sampson also argues that contemporary immigrants tend to come from a multitude of cultures around the world where violence isn't rewarded as a strategy for establishing reputation or preserving honor, as in American "street culture."
"In today's society," Sampson said, "immigration and the increasing cultural diversity that accompanies it generate the sort of conflicts of culture that lead not to increased crime but nearly the opposite."
Source: Yahoo
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Texas City Council Member in Hot Water for Racist Comment on Public Document
A Texas city council member is under pressure to resign from office after he published a racist comment in a public document, according to a report on MyFOXAustin.com.
Mustang Ridge City Council member Charles Laws referred to a proposed immigrant detention center as a “holding pen for wetbacks” on the March 12 meeting agenda, MyFOXAustin.com reports.
When first asked for comment, Laws told the TV station, "I'm 74 years old, and that's what we called them when I was growing up. I don't care about political crap."
Laws later softened his stance, saying, "I wasn't thinking when I put it in there. I didn't mean to offend anybody, I was just passing on the information.”
Mike Martinez, a city council member from nearby Austin, is leading the movement to remove Laws.
"When I asked him to explain himself, his explanation was 'That's what it is, and that's what they are,'" Martinez told MyFOXAustin.com.
Source: FoxNews
Mustang Ridge City Council member Charles Laws referred to a proposed immigrant detention center as a “holding pen for wetbacks” on the March 12 meeting agenda, MyFOXAustin.com reports.
When first asked for comment, Laws told the TV station, "I'm 74 years old, and that's what we called them when I was growing up. I don't care about political crap."
Laws later softened his stance, saying, "I wasn't thinking when I put it in there. I didn't mean to offend anybody, I was just passing on the information.”
Mike Martinez, a city council member from nearby Austin, is leading the movement to remove Laws.
"When I asked him to explain himself, his explanation was 'That's what it is, and that's what they are,'" Martinez told MyFOXAustin.com.
Source: FoxNews
Obama guilty by association? What about Sean Hannity?
Or is there a double standard?
From White Supremacist Hal Turner:
Source: The Hal Turner Show
From White Supremacist Hal Turner:
About Sean Hannity and Me. . . . .
Yes, we were friends and yes, Sean agreed with some of my views
Recently, Barak Obama has come under serious scrutiny for attending a church whose Reverend Wright espouses anti-American and racist views. One media outlet that has been especially critical of Obama has been the show "Hannity & Colmes" on Fox News Channel.
On Wednesday, March 19, Malik Zulu Shabazz of the New Black Panther Party appeared as a guest on "Hannity & Colmes" to discuss the Obama / Reverend Wright controversy. During that appearance, Sean Hannity asked Shabazz if Barak Obama shouldn't be judged by his past affiliations with Reverend Wright, to which Shabazz replied by asking Sean Hannity "Should you be judged by your past association with Hal Turner, a neo-Nazi?"
I was quite disappointed when Sean Hannity at first tried to say he didn't know me and then went on to say that I ran some senate campaign in New Jersey. In fact, Sean Hannity does know me and we were quite friendly a number of years ago.
When Hannity took over Bob Grant's spot on 77 WABC in New York City, I was a well-known, regular and welcome caller to his show. Through those calls, Sean and I got to know each other a bit and at some point, I can't remember exactly when, Sean gave me the secret "Guest call-in number" at WABC so that my calls could always get on the air.
When I utlized that call-in number, Sean would very often come onto that line during commercial breaks so we could chat before I went on the air. Our off-the-air chats grew to an exchange of other phone numbers, me giving Sean my home and cellular number and Sean giving me his direct dial-in number at Fox News channel.
In 1993, My wife got pregnant and around a month later, Sean reported that he and his wife were expecting their first child. We got to talking about things expectant dads talk about and the relationship grew.
My wife gave birth to our son in June 1994, Seans wife gave birth to their child about a month later.
Over the course of the next three or four years, Sean and I spoke regularly off the air about our kids, politics and news of the day. My on-air calls to his show remained regular and welcome.
Around 1997, Sean invited me and my then-three-year-old-son, to come to Fox News Channel to be in the studio (NOT ON THE AIR) during a live broadcast of "Hannity & Colmes". I accepted the invitation and my son and I went. We were inside the studio standing between the camera men as the show aired live. We got to speak with both Sean Hannity and Allan Colmes before the show. Like most three year olds, my son's willingness to stay quiet didn't last, so I thought it best to take him home rather than have his noise air during their show.
Sean and I spoke by phone the next day. I thanked him for the chance to be there and he said it was a real pleasure meeting me and my son.
In the year 2000, I sought the Republican nomination to the US House of Representatives from the 13th Congressional District of New Jersey. Since I was a candidate for federal office and since WABC served the area in which I was running for election, WABC was FORCED by federal law to accept my campaign radio ads, many of which were quite explicit. The station did not want to air the ads but the law left them no choice.
At about the same time, WABC changed program directors from John Mainelli to Phil Boyce. It seems to me that Mr. Boyce objected vehemently to my campaign commercials and political beliefs and I suspect he told Sean Hannity that I was not to be welcomed on WABC anymore. Since Boyce had the power to fire Hannity, it appears to me that Hannity did what he was told. From that point on, Sean Hannity never spoke to me again. Not on the air or off.
Here we are, more than eight years later, my friendship with Sean has become some sort of hot issue. *****s are trying to equate my relationship with Sean Hannity, with Reverend Wright's relationship with Barak Obama, a man who may well become President of the United States. It is an intellectually dishonest - even meaningless - comparison but someone thinks they should make this fuss. Fine. So be it.
I can tell you from my firsthand, personal experience that Sean Hannity does, in fact, agree with many of my political and social views. I can also tell you that Sean Hannity disagrees with some of my political and social views. I won't go subject-by-subject to say which he agrees with and which he disagrees with. You can figure that out easy enough on your own! Suffice it to say that my recollection is that when Sean and I spoke by phone, while no one else was listening, he and I exchanged the kinds of views that most White, Irish-Catholic guys hold, but won't speak in public.
In my opinion, based on my first hand experience, I believe Sean Hannity is, in fact, a Hal Turner sort of guy. It seems to me that a big difference between Sean and me is that I am willing to say publicly what I think about savage Black criminals, diseased, uneducated illegal aliens and the grotesque cultural destruction wrought by satanic jews while Sean and many others keep quiet to protect their paychecks.
Another big difference is that I am perfectly willing to use force and violence against my enemies while Sean Hannity and others are not. Those using me as a prop to attack Sean Hannity would do well to remember this fact. Rest assured I will remember them when the opportunity presents itself; especially as it pertains to that douche bag sodomite Max Blumenthal for the falsehoods and total trash he wrote about me in "The Nation" magazine.
Source: The Hal Turner Show
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Hate crime motive considered in fires at Mexican restaurants
By CARRI GEER THEVENOT
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Investigators are trying to determine whether hate was the motive behind fires that were intentionally set Saturday morning at two Mexican restaurants in Pahrump.
"Not to investigate it as a possible hate crime would be remiss on our part," said Capt. Bill Becht of the Nye County Sheriff's Office.
Sheriff's deputies first responded around 4:20 a.m. Saturday to a fire at Su Mesa Mexican Restaurant, 1560 E. Calvada Blvd.
They found two improvised incendiary weapons, known as "Molotov cocktails," at the scene.
While there, deputies learned of a second fire down the street at El Leon de Oro Mexican Restaurant, 1720 E. Calvada Blvd. Again, evidence was found that pointed to arson.
Roberto Guerra and his older brother, Mario, opened El Leon de Oro in May 2003. Roberto Guerra, who lives in Beatty, said he visited the scene of the fire Saturday.
"Everything's gone inside," he said during a telephone interview Wednesday.
Roberto Guerra, a native of Mexico who is "very proud" of his U.S. citizenship, said he has never experienced racial discrimination and has no idea whether it motivated someone to damage his restaurant.
"I don't want to point my finger to nobody," he said.
In November 2006, the Pahrump Town Board enacted a controversial ordinance that declared English the official town language, set restrictions on flying foreign flags and denied town benefits to undocumented immigrants. It was never enforced.
Three months later, after four of the panel's five members had been replaced, the board voted to repeal the ordinance.
"Pahrump is a nice town," said Roberto Guerra. "I think it's a place to grow a family."
He and his family have lived in Beatty for 23 years; his brother lives in Las Vegas. He said they have never received any threats.
Roberto Guerra said he wept Saturday when he saw his restaurant. He said he cried for the half dozen employees who lost their jobs because of the fire.
Roberto Guerra vowed to reopen the business as soon as possible.
For now, he is left wondering why his restaurant was targeted. "It's something I don't understand," he said.
According to a statement from the Nye County Sheriff's Office, the front window of Su Mesa was broken when deputies arrived, and they saw flames inside.
They also saw a beer bottle stuffed with a rag, which was on fire, under the bench in front of the business. Molotov cocktails are typically made by filling a glass bottle with fuel and a "fuse" that consists of a fuel-soaked rag. Someone then lights the fuse and hurls the bottle at a target, causing a fireball.
According to the statement from the Sheriff's Office, a second Molotov cocktail was found inside Su Mesa at the origin of the fire.
"Deputies' quick actions preserved evidence and were able to contain the fire until Pahrump Fire arrived and took command of the scene," according to the statement.
A spokeswoman at the Nye County Assessor's Office said Maria Zepeda purchased the Su Mesa property in October 2004 from a relative. Zepeda could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
"Further investigation revealed that a raised, white SUV-type vehicle was seen rapidly leaving the area prior to the Su Mesa fire being called in," according to the statement from the Sheriff's Office.
While deputies were at the scene of the Su Mesa fire, a witness informed them that white smoke was coming from the rooftop of El Leon de Oro. Authorities said they again found evidence of arson, but they did not elaborate.
Becht said both restaurants remained closed Wednesday.
Becht said authorities had no suspects. The state Fire Marshal's Division is leading the investigation.
"We've been in contact with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and it's a coordinated effort to determine the cause of this," said Lt. Mike Dzyak of the Fire Marshal's Division.
He said the fire has been classified as "incendiary." He declined to speculate on a motive and said he did not have a damage estimate.
Nina Delgadillo, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the case could lead to federal charges because it involves commercial buildings and because Molotov cocktails were used.
Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0264.
Source: LVRJ
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Investigators are trying to determine whether hate was the motive behind fires that were intentionally set Saturday morning at two Mexican restaurants in Pahrump.
"Not to investigate it as a possible hate crime would be remiss on our part," said Capt. Bill Becht of the Nye County Sheriff's Office.
Sheriff's deputies first responded around 4:20 a.m. Saturday to a fire at Su Mesa Mexican Restaurant, 1560 E. Calvada Blvd.
They found two improvised incendiary weapons, known as "Molotov cocktails," at the scene.
While there, deputies learned of a second fire down the street at El Leon de Oro Mexican Restaurant, 1720 E. Calvada Blvd. Again, evidence was found that pointed to arson.
Roberto Guerra and his older brother, Mario, opened El Leon de Oro in May 2003. Roberto Guerra, who lives in Beatty, said he visited the scene of the fire Saturday.
"Everything's gone inside," he said during a telephone interview Wednesday.
Roberto Guerra, a native of Mexico who is "very proud" of his U.S. citizenship, said he has never experienced racial discrimination and has no idea whether it motivated someone to damage his restaurant.
"I don't want to point my finger to nobody," he said.
In November 2006, the Pahrump Town Board enacted a controversial ordinance that declared English the official town language, set restrictions on flying foreign flags and denied town benefits to undocumented immigrants. It was never enforced.
Three months later, after four of the panel's five members had been replaced, the board voted to repeal the ordinance.
"Pahrump is a nice town," said Roberto Guerra. "I think it's a place to grow a family."
He and his family have lived in Beatty for 23 years; his brother lives in Las Vegas. He said they have never received any threats.
Roberto Guerra said he wept Saturday when he saw his restaurant. He said he cried for the half dozen employees who lost their jobs because of the fire.
Roberto Guerra vowed to reopen the business as soon as possible.
For now, he is left wondering why his restaurant was targeted. "It's something I don't understand," he said.
According to a statement from the Nye County Sheriff's Office, the front window of Su Mesa was broken when deputies arrived, and they saw flames inside.
They also saw a beer bottle stuffed with a rag, which was on fire, under the bench in front of the business. Molotov cocktails are typically made by filling a glass bottle with fuel and a "fuse" that consists of a fuel-soaked rag. Someone then lights the fuse and hurls the bottle at a target, causing a fireball.
According to the statement from the Sheriff's Office, a second Molotov cocktail was found inside Su Mesa at the origin of the fire.
"Deputies' quick actions preserved evidence and were able to contain the fire until Pahrump Fire arrived and took command of the scene," according to the statement.
A spokeswoman at the Nye County Assessor's Office said Maria Zepeda purchased the Su Mesa property in October 2004 from a relative. Zepeda could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
"Further investigation revealed that a raised, white SUV-type vehicle was seen rapidly leaving the area prior to the Su Mesa fire being called in," according to the statement from the Sheriff's Office.
While deputies were at the scene of the Su Mesa fire, a witness informed them that white smoke was coming from the rooftop of El Leon de Oro. Authorities said they again found evidence of arson, but they did not elaborate.
Becht said both restaurants remained closed Wednesday.
Becht said authorities had no suspects. The state Fire Marshal's Division is leading the investigation.
"We've been in contact with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and it's a coordinated effort to determine the cause of this," said Lt. Mike Dzyak of the Fire Marshal's Division.
He said the fire has been classified as "incendiary." He declined to speculate on a motive and said he did not have a damage estimate.
Nina Delgadillo, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the case could lead to federal charges because it involves commercial buildings and because Molotov cocktails were used.
Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0264.
Source: LVRJ
Hispanic man attacked, spit on because of race
Two 19-year-olds charged with bias-motivated assault
by Eli Stokols, News2
March 13, 2008
BOULDER (KWGN) — Two 19-year-olds are behind bars after allegedly yelling racial slurs at and punching a Hispanic man who was leaving a convenience store Tuesday night.
Josh Ruzek and Abraham Paquet are charged with bias-motivated assault. Police officers, who were quick to arrive on the scene, witnessed Paquet punching the victim, Ivan Ponce DeLeon, in the face.
It started as DeLeon was walking away from the PDQ store at 5200 Manhattan Circle, just off South Boulder Road.
"I walked by and heard them call me a Spic," De Leon said. "They said, 'Why are you stealing all our jobs?'"
DeLeon thought about fighting back -- "I wanted to," he said -- but held back and tried instead to go back inside the store and wait for police.
"They blocked me from going back in and pushed me out into the parking lot," DeLeon said. "Then one of them punched me, and the other spit on me."
According to police reports, Paquet stated he "hit the [sic] illegal alien because he shouldn't even be here"; and he lashed out at police.
"He called me and the other officers "pigs, just protecting the rights of the [sic] illegal aliens of this country," one officer wrote in his report. "We were just [sic] and cowards for not being able to stick up for our own rights and so on."
DeLeon came to the United States from his native Mexico six years ago and is married to a U.S. citizen. In two weeks, he will also take the oath of citizenship. The father of a 14-month-old son, he hopes that his son never has to endure the same kind of demeaning racial slurs he did.
DeLeon does plan to file charges against Ruzek and Paquet.
"I don't want this to happen to another guy," DeLeon said. "These guys need to learn that this isn't the way."
But, in DeLeon's mind, it increasingly is the way. Over the last year, as the national debate over immigration has intensified, he has been the target of other abuses, including another hate-laced tirade at a bar a few months back.
"It's gotten worse," he said.
Ruzek and Paquet are also suspected in another misdemeanor theft reported just a few hours before the assault at the gas station. In that case, a 15-year-old boy alleges that Ruzek and Paquet attacked him on a city bus and stole his skateboard and cell phone.
No charges are likely to be filed in connection with that report.
Copyright © 2008, KWGN
Source: TRB
by Eli Stokols, News2
March 13, 2008
BOULDER (KWGN) — Two 19-year-olds are behind bars after allegedly yelling racial slurs at and punching a Hispanic man who was leaving a convenience store Tuesday night.
Josh Ruzek and Abraham Paquet are charged with bias-motivated assault. Police officers, who were quick to arrive on the scene, witnessed Paquet punching the victim, Ivan Ponce DeLeon, in the face.
It started as DeLeon was walking away from the PDQ store at 5200 Manhattan Circle, just off South Boulder Road.
"I walked by and heard them call me a Spic," De Leon said. "They said, 'Why are you stealing all our jobs?'"
DeLeon thought about fighting back -- "I wanted to," he said -- but held back and tried instead to go back inside the store and wait for police.
"They blocked me from going back in and pushed me out into the parking lot," DeLeon said. "Then one of them punched me, and the other spit on me."
According to police reports, Paquet stated he "hit the [sic] illegal alien because he shouldn't even be here"; and he lashed out at police.
"He called me and the other officers "pigs, just protecting the rights of the [sic] illegal aliens of this country," one officer wrote in his report. "We were just [sic] and cowards for not being able to stick up for our own rights and so on."
DeLeon came to the United States from his native Mexico six years ago and is married to a U.S. citizen. In two weeks, he will also take the oath of citizenship. The father of a 14-month-old son, he hopes that his son never has to endure the same kind of demeaning racial slurs he did.
DeLeon does plan to file charges against Ruzek and Paquet.
"I don't want this to happen to another guy," DeLeon said. "These guys need to learn that this isn't the way."
But, in DeLeon's mind, it increasingly is the way. Over the last year, as the national debate over immigration has intensified, he has been the target of other abuses, including another hate-laced tirade at a bar a few months back.
"It's gotten worse," he said.
Ruzek and Paquet are also suspected in another misdemeanor theft reported just a few hours before the assault at the gas station. In that case, a 15-year-old boy alleges that Ruzek and Paquet attacked him on a city bus and stole his skateboard and cell phone.
No charges are likely to be filed in connection with that report.
Copyright © 2008, KWGN
Source: TRB
Saturday, March 01, 2008
New Latino Wave Helps Revitalize Detroit
By COREY WILLIAMS
DETROIT (AP) — The broad-brimmed western hats, colorful festival dance dresses and Mayan-style pottery that line the shelves at Xochi's Mexican Imports are common sights at stores in the Southwest.
But it's southwest Detroit on a cold, dreary winter day, not sunny El Paso, San Diego, Tucson or other cities just north of the Mexican border.
From its Mexican Town restaurant district to the new shops of the La Plaza Mercado retail development, southwest Detroit is doing something it hasn't done in years — grow and prosper.
"We come starving for a better life," 32-year-old dance instructor Valeria Montes said. "We want to strive and we've found in southwest Detroit a place to do it. The opportunity was here for us and we took it."
Latinos are carving out a niche in neighborhoods far from the southern border more and more — from Bagley Street here to the Mitchell Street area in Milwaukee to Bailey's Crossroads in Fairfax County, Va.
A new wave of Latino immigrants is following others who established communities in northern cities in the 1950s after getting jobs in the auto and other manufacturing industries. The attraction now is employment in restaurants, shops and other service-oriented businesses that cater primarily to residents in those communities but also draw non-Latinos.
"A number of folks who are coming up — documented or undocumented — are finding jobs," said Enrique Figueroa, director of the Roberto Hernandez Center at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
The now-vibrant neighborhood wasn't always so.
Its fate had mirrored most other areas of Detroit that began to lose businesses and people following the city's 1967 riot. Boarded-up buildings and an unappealing mix of fast-food stops, dank bars and seedy strip clubs lined the streets.
Gang violence was rampant and the housing stock crumbled.
"It wasn't a neighborhood where you could walk down the street," Southwest Detroit Business Association deputy director Edith J. Castillo said. "Now, you can actually walk down West Vernor. You can take your family out for ice cream after church."
Castillo's nonprofit is one of several working with city officials and businesses to resurrect the area.
More than $200 million has been invested in southwest Detroit in the past 15 years, which has attracted retail and new homes, including an $11 million condo development.
"It's one of the few places in the city where you are seeing a lot of private investment," said Olga Savic, of the Detroit Economic Growth Corp., the city's public/private development arm. "West Vernor Avenue was once primarily vacant. Now, it's 90 percent full."
The neighborhood is doing so well the mayor didn't include it in his plan to pump millions of dollars into distressed areas.
Blight hasn't been totally wiped out, but older Latinos and the new immigrants are helping with the transformation.
"These are people who are risk takers ... and understand if they are going to make it, it's up to them to make it successful," said Ruben Martinez, director of the Julian Samora Research Institute at Michigan State University. "Many others, who have been here for several generations, don't have that."
The Detroit neighborhood is known as "Mexican Town," but it truly is a melting pot.
About half the residents claim a Hispanic heritage, 25 percent are black, 20 percent are white and 5 percent are Arab-American, according to the Southwest Detroit Business Association.
In contrast, more than 80 percent of Detroit's 920,000 residents are black.
And while the city's overall population has plummeted in recent decades because of white flight and more recently the exodus of the black middle class, the southwest side's population has grown considerably, up 6.9 percent to more than 96,000 people from 1990 to 2000.
The city's Latino population grew by nearly 19,000 over that period to more than 47,000.
Without the manufacturing jobs that attracted many to places like Detroit, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Chicago in the 1950s and 1960s, Latinos have found opportunities in their own backyards, Figueroa said.
"Once you had a cousin, uncle or aunt there, that was a logical place to come because there were still jobs," he said. "The Detroit economy and Milwaukee economy have not done so well in the '80s and '90s. But what has occurred in the Latino community is the establishment of new businesses, primarily service-oriented businesses that serve the Latino communities that were established in the '50s and '60s."
Mexican restaurants and bars along Mitchell Street and in other parts of Milwaukee attract non-Latinos, but it's Latinos that keep the bakeries and grocery stores open, Figueroa said.
"There is enough money in the economy that people can sustain retail establishments by primarily relying on Latino clientele," he said.
It's that sense of community that led Montes and her husband to move from a downriver suburb of Detroit to the southwest side.
"I feel like I'm at home," she said. "I go to get a haircut, I speak Spanish. I go to mercado (market), I speak Spanish. My daughter goes to school and there are a lot of Latino kids. It's a great feeling."
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DETROIT (AP) — The broad-brimmed western hats, colorful festival dance dresses and Mayan-style pottery that line the shelves at Xochi's Mexican Imports are common sights at stores in the Southwest.
But it's southwest Detroit on a cold, dreary winter day, not sunny El Paso, San Diego, Tucson or other cities just north of the Mexican border.
From its Mexican Town restaurant district to the new shops of the La Plaza Mercado retail development, southwest Detroit is doing something it hasn't done in years — grow and prosper.
"We come starving for a better life," 32-year-old dance instructor Valeria Montes said. "We want to strive and we've found in southwest Detroit a place to do it. The opportunity was here for us and we took it."
Latinos are carving out a niche in neighborhoods far from the southern border more and more — from Bagley Street here to the Mitchell Street area in Milwaukee to Bailey's Crossroads in Fairfax County, Va.
A new wave of Latino immigrants is following others who established communities in northern cities in the 1950s after getting jobs in the auto and other manufacturing industries. The attraction now is employment in restaurants, shops and other service-oriented businesses that cater primarily to residents in those communities but also draw non-Latinos.
"A number of folks who are coming up — documented or undocumented — are finding jobs," said Enrique Figueroa, director of the Roberto Hernandez Center at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
The now-vibrant neighborhood wasn't always so.
Its fate had mirrored most other areas of Detroit that began to lose businesses and people following the city's 1967 riot. Boarded-up buildings and an unappealing mix of fast-food stops, dank bars and seedy strip clubs lined the streets.
Gang violence was rampant and the housing stock crumbled.
"It wasn't a neighborhood where you could walk down the street," Southwest Detroit Business Association deputy director Edith J. Castillo said. "Now, you can actually walk down West Vernor. You can take your family out for ice cream after church."
Castillo's nonprofit is one of several working with city officials and businesses to resurrect the area.
More than $200 million has been invested in southwest Detroit in the past 15 years, which has attracted retail and new homes, including an $11 million condo development.
"It's one of the few places in the city where you are seeing a lot of private investment," said Olga Savic, of the Detroit Economic Growth Corp., the city's public/private development arm. "West Vernor Avenue was once primarily vacant. Now, it's 90 percent full."
The neighborhood is doing so well the mayor didn't include it in his plan to pump millions of dollars into distressed areas.
Blight hasn't been totally wiped out, but older Latinos and the new immigrants are helping with the transformation.
"These are people who are risk takers ... and understand if they are going to make it, it's up to them to make it successful," said Ruben Martinez, director of the Julian Samora Research Institute at Michigan State University. "Many others, who have been here for several generations, don't have that."
The Detroit neighborhood is known as "Mexican Town," but it truly is a melting pot.
About half the residents claim a Hispanic heritage, 25 percent are black, 20 percent are white and 5 percent are Arab-American, according to the Southwest Detroit Business Association.
In contrast, more than 80 percent of Detroit's 920,000 residents are black.
And while the city's overall population has plummeted in recent decades because of white flight and more recently the exodus of the black middle class, the southwest side's population has grown considerably, up 6.9 percent to more than 96,000 people from 1990 to 2000.
The city's Latino population grew by nearly 19,000 over that period to more than 47,000.
Without the manufacturing jobs that attracted many to places like Detroit, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Chicago in the 1950s and 1960s, Latinos have found opportunities in their own backyards, Figueroa said.
"Once you had a cousin, uncle or aunt there, that was a logical place to come because there were still jobs," he said. "The Detroit economy and Milwaukee economy have not done so well in the '80s and '90s. But what has occurred in the Latino community is the establishment of new businesses, primarily service-oriented businesses that serve the Latino communities that were established in the '50s and '60s."
Mexican restaurants and bars along Mitchell Street and in other parts of Milwaukee attract non-Latinos, but it's Latinos that keep the bakeries and grocery stores open, Figueroa said.
"There is enough money in the economy that people can sustain retail establishments by primarily relying on Latino clientele," he said.
It's that sense of community that led Montes and her husband to move from a downriver suburb of Detroit to the southwest side.
"I feel like I'm at home," she said. "I go to get a haircut, I speak Spanish. I go to mercado (market), I speak Spanish. My daughter goes to school and there are a lot of Latino kids. It's a great feeling."
Immigration agent kills self amid porn, swastika flag
Agent fires at other officers, shoots himself after standoff.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Thursday, February 28, 2008
GRAND PRAIRIE — An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent killed himself after an armed standoff with a police officer and three colleagues, Grand Prairie police said Wednesday.
Police discovered a suitcase full of pornography, a flag with a swastika and more than a half-dozen weapons after finding Mark Juvette dead early Wednesday.
Juvette, 40, worked for the agency's Dallas Office of Detention and Removal.
Agency officials did not comment.
A police officer was sent to Juvette's apartment Tuesday night after co-workers expressed concern for his welfare. The officer and three immigration agents couldn't get in the apartment, and Juvette began shooting at them through the door.
Officers found Juvette dead with a gunshot wound to the head early Wednesday. The Tarrant County medical examiner ruled his death a suicide.
Officers processing the scene said they found a large canvas suitcase full of pornographic magazines in the bedroom and a red flag with a black swastika hung in a closet with a few older-style military jackets.
Source: Statesman
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Thursday, February 28, 2008
GRAND PRAIRIE — An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent killed himself after an armed standoff with a police officer and three colleagues, Grand Prairie police said Wednesday.
Police discovered a suitcase full of pornography, a flag with a swastika and more than a half-dozen weapons after finding Mark Juvette dead early Wednesday.
Juvette, 40, worked for the agency's Dallas Office of Detention and Removal.
Agency officials did not comment.
A police officer was sent to Juvette's apartment Tuesday night after co-workers expressed concern for his welfare. The officer and three immigration agents couldn't get in the apartment, and Juvette began shooting at them through the door.
Officers found Juvette dead with a gunshot wound to the head early Wednesday. The Tarrant County medical examiner ruled his death a suicide.
Officers processing the scene said they found a large canvas suitcase full of pornographic magazines in the bedroom and a red flag with a black swastika hung in a closet with a few older-style military jackets.
Source: Statesman
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