A father and his two sons, accused in the shooting of an ICE agent, acted out of fear

[aGameOfThrones]

HARGILL — A father and his two sons, accused in the shooting of an ICE agent, acted out of fear, their relatives said Friday in a community familiar with border-style violence and a distrust of strangers.

The sons have admitted to opening fire Tuesday near their home, injuring an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who sat inside a darkened vehicle conducting surveillance in the area.

But family members say Pedro Alvarado, 41, suspected the agent was an intruder and acted to protect their rural home, where the family has been attacked in the past.

Just a few months ago, Pedro Alvarado's wife was accosted at their front gate by “pseudo cops” who held a gun to her head, according to relatives. The incident ended when those in the house rushed out and chased away the thugs.

Amparo Ramirez, the family matriarch who lives nearby, said the ICE vehicle was parked on the next-door property and that no attempt was made to notify home owners of surveillance activity.

“They thought it was somebody breaking in,” Ramirez said. “The ICE didn't identify itself. The kids explained what they did.”

It wasn't the first time the home has been a target for crime, including three recent attempted break-ins, according to another relative at the home Friday, who asked not to be named.

Pedro Alvarado and his son Arnoldo Alvarado, 18, were questioned following a consent search of their home after the shooting. A federal magistrate Thursday ordered them detained pending a detention hearing Tuesday. The two are charged with assault of a federal officer. The other son, a 16-year-old, was charged in juvenile court with attempted capital murder.

Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said he has asked the district attorney's office to have the minor son tried as an adult.

An Express-News criminal records search in the Texas Department of Public Safety database for Pedro Alvarado was inconclusive. No records were found for Arnoldo Alvarado.

Treviño could not be reached for comment Friday to confirm the family's allegations of previous break-ins. The sheriff has commented in the past about pseudo cop incidents in Hidalgo County.

“People have cars that look like police cars, and they try to rob you,” the relative at Alvarado's home said Friday. “They dress up like cops.


Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Relatives-say-father-sons-acted-out-of-fear-3689360.php#ixzz1zyks3l81

[QuickZ06]

Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said he has asked the district attorney's office to have the minor son tried as an adult.

Of course they would.

[squarepusher]

I dont get what happened, was the ICE agent just sitting in his car doing surveilance? and was attacked?

[CaptainAmerica]

And of course the federal government is stupid once again to prosecute a person who was defending their home.

[Anti Federalist]

Pedro Alvarado and his son Arnoldo Alvarado, 18, were questioned following a consent search of their home after the shooting. A federal magistrate Thursday ordered them detained pending a detention hearing Tuesday. The two are charged with assault of a federal officer. The other son, a 16-year-old, was charged in juvenile court with attempted capital murder.

Yeah, those poor bastards are fucked.

Don't you know you are to submit and comply immediately in the presence of an officer?

If if they ain't.

[aGameOfThrones]

Of course they would.

It's to teach the children.

[CaptUSA]

Wait a minute. I'm not one to defend the cops here, but according to this article, the ICE agent was sitting in his car and was not on the property. That means they shot at a car that was at their neighbor's house. I don't know how this can be defended.

They shot at a darkened vehicle because it was too close to their property and they were fearful? What if this was a lost mother who pulled off the road trying to figure out her GPS? Without knowing who was in the vehicle, they could have been shooting at her child in the carseat.

I think they'll have an easy time getting the assault on an officer charged dropped if they can prove they didn't know who was in the car, but the attempted murder charge will stand. As it should.

[CaptUSA]

Listen boys and girls, this is NOT the way you defend your home.


According to court documents, Arnoldo Alvarado said his father told him and his brother to “get the guns” because there was a suspicious vehicle nearby. Pedro Alvarado drove to the vehicle, parked with headlights off, and the brothers began shooting and continued as ICE Special Agent Kelton Harrison drove away.

[QuickZ06]

Listen boys and girls, this is NOT the way you defend your home.

But here is the kicker, in Texas we have The Castle Law, in which your vehicle is considered an extension of your home. So even though they might have left their property, are they still covered under this? Because they did leave the safety of their property and were never in any real danger just saw suspicious activity. But they also choose to exit the vehicle and shoot the ICE agent. Just don't think we have all the facts.


the ICE vehicle was parked on the next-door property and that no attempt was made to notify home owners of surveillance activity.

Why did they not notify them about the surveillance. If these people are already on the edge around the border, why play hide and seek tactics around families who are pretty protective as it is around the boarder?