Alleged Juvenile Smuggler Shot by Authorities in Kinney County

And, In-Person Trial Concludes Monday in OLS Related Trespassing Case

Good Morning friends,

This is a weird one that we’ve tried to hold off on publishing because of some confusing initial reports.

Initially, it was indicated that a DPS trooper in Kinney County shot a smuggler early Monday morning on a farm-to-market road after a 10 mile chase. Then other reports indicated a local Sheriff’s Deputy also opened fire.

And, we could swear that the first place we saw reports that DPS shot the suspect then went and ‘stealth-edited’ their report to just say “police” shot the suspect. This is why observers of past corrections here at the newsletter may have noticed how we document even minor changes in our comments section. It’s enough to make you doubt your own senses, when you go back later and read something different.

Who is correct? No clue at this point, with the Sheriff saying only that the investigation is in the hands of the Texas Rangers.

However, logic and experience tells us that it is almost certain that every officer on the scene opened fire. It doesn’t matter what agency, or where in the country, when one lawman starts shooting, they all almost always start shooting.

So, let’s back up, and fill in the blanks— here’s what’s known for certain so far:

Texas Rangers are investigating the shooting of an underage suspect, who authorities say was smuggling illegal aliens and may have tried to run over some DPS troopers and at least one local Sheriff's deputy.

It happened early Monday morning (May 9) on RR 674, after a ten mile pursuit.  Authorities say the driver of a white Ford sedan slowed down to let a load of illegal aliens bail out and run for the brush.  He then allegedly tried to get back on the road, and appeared to be aiming the car at troopers and the Deputy.

The lawmen opened fire.  The suspect was hit twice in the chest, once in the arm, and was sent to the hospital in Del Rio, and then later flown to a San Antonio hospital.  The suspect, described as a juvenile male is believed to be from the San Antonio area.

This comes after several weeks of news coverage about how the cartels favor hiring underage smugglers, because they tend not to face any serious legal penalties when caught.

Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe has no comment so far, except to confirm the incident did happen and the investigation by Texas Rangers is well under way.

—Bulletin sent to the Kinney County Post, on behalf of the Sheriff’s Office, written by yours truly

Pretty vague no? There’s other narratives out there already, all mostly saying the same thing. But they can be somewhat instructive in their differences.

Breitbart is where we think it was first published. Former Border Patrol Chief, turned Reporter, Randy Clark could’ve sourced the story with DPS, a local deputy, or even a Border Patrolman that was privy to the details and working that night. There’s just no telling.

Independent Journalist Ali Bradley also put out a report, initially saying it was a local Sheriff’s Deputy that did the shooting, before updating it to say both DPS and the local Deputy opened fire.

She also doesn’t name her sources, but her demonstrated willingness to get out into the brush and get into the dirt opens a lot of doors. It’s entirely possible that the Sheriff spoke with her to clarify things, though one doubts he would do so, as information leaks tend to complicate the life of a public figure.

It’s also entirely possible that she was able to leverage contacts with DPS or a Deputy.

In any event, expect more information to reach the press soon, as San Antonio and other news organizations begin prying for details. It’s inevitable that more information will slip out as more organizations take aim.

Other big news today is the cancellation of two more trials related to Operation Lone Star trespassing that were scheduled to happen in Kinney County Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Initially there were three. The first happened Monday, yesterday. And it ended in a guilty sentence.

County Attorney Brent Smith, whose office prosecuted the case, issued a brief personal statement on Facebook:

A jury trial today found an illegal alien who trespassed on a ranch in Kinney county guilty. He was sentenced to 1 year in jail and payment of court costs. Most had pled guilty up until today. This guy wanted his date in court. He got it.

—Kinney County Attorney Brent Smith on Facebook

We did not attend the trial, being scheduled for Jury Duty and possible selection in the second case, originally set for Tuesday (today). But from what we understand, the illegal alien found guilty Monday has already served 8 months in lock up down in Dilley, and will be getting credit for time served, with about 4 months left to go.

Assuming a record of good behavior, it’s entirely possible that he might get out sooner, though that hasn’t been determined yet.

As we mentioned earlier, the second and third cases have been canceled.

Observers we spoke to about Jury Selection suggest that attorneys for the Defense may’ve been hoping to find local residents that might be chafing under the increased presence of Operation Lone Star-related law enforcement, or were otherwise more likely to be predisposed in favor of a not-guilty verdict.

The conventional wisdom most immigration attorneys and experts and activists hold to, is that one doesn’t have to look far in a “typical” border community, to find people who might be fed up with border related law enforcement.

But, as we’ve been trying to say since day 1 here in this newsletter, a lot of the conventional wisdom is crap. Certainly, it would seem to be so in this case. Why? Well, lets ignore the fact that peddlers of the conventional wisdom have been painting a whole swath of territory with a pretty broad brush all along, and just point out that folks are freaked out by the unprecedented numbers of illegal aliens that are visibly pouring through the area.

Their own two eyes are showing it to them. And its been going on for more than a year already. Most of that time has seen the vast majority of statewide and national press dismissing their concerns and telling them that there is no crisis. To shut up. To stop being racist.

It’s becoming a paradigm shift— people around here are wanting more border-related law enforcement, not less.

And on that note, we’ll call it a morning. Have a great day. We’ll see you all again soon.

As always, we try to keep this newsletter independent of our day job with the County Sheriff’s Office. Obviously that’s kind of an oddness in this case, given the Office’s proximity to major events. The main thing we’d like folks to take on board is that any errors, or opinions expressed in this newsletter are ours alone— and not any sort of official statement or expression by Kinney County.