Border Patrol had hands full with shooting, big pot haul

By Brady McCombs

ARIZONA DAILY STAR

With another agent-related shooting, the discovery of human remains, the arrest of a convicted sex offender and the seizure of 3,600 pounds of marijuana in two separate incidents, it was busy weekend for the Border Patrol.

About 9 Friday night near Amado south of Tucson, a Border Patrol agent fired several times at the driver of a Chevrolet pickup carrying 10 illegal entrants that was coming at him, said Gustavo Soto, a spokesman for the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector.

There are no indications that anyone was hit, but agents don't know for sure because the driver and another passenger got out of the truck and ran away.

The incident began when the agent followed a group of people walking.

The agent, who was on foot, saw them get into the pickup truck. He shined his flashlight at the driver in an attempt to get him to stop, but the driver accelerated and was heading toward the agent, who then fired, Soto said.

Agents apprehended 10 illegal entrants, all from Mexico, in the bed of the truck. None of them was injured. They weren't able to find the two who fled, he said.

Nine of the 10 illegal entrants will be in Border Patrol custody as witnesses. The other was voluntarily returned to Mexico because he had chicken pox, Soto said.