Robert Krentz Murder Suspect Is In The United States, Not Mexico (UPDATE)

UPDATE: The Arizona Daily Star now reports that the nationality of Robert Krentz's murder suspect is unknown. An earlier version of the story reported that the suspect was an American.

Robert Krentz, an Arizona cattle rancher whose killing became a "flashpoint" in the state's immigration debate, may have been killed by an American -- not an illegal immigrant someone in the United States, according to a new report.

The Arizona Daily Star reports that a "American suspect" "suspect in the United States" is the focus of the Krentz murder investigation:

High-ranking government officials with credible information spoke to the Star, citing a desire to quell the fury over illegal immigration and drug smuggling set off by the shooting death of longtime rancher Robert Krentz on March 27.

They said Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever is investigating a person in the United States, not in Mexico, in connection with the shooting.

On March 27, Krentz was found shot to death in an ATV on his property in Cochise County, Arizona. A single set of footprints leading from the crime scene to the Mexican border sparked speculation that Krentz was killed by by an illegal immigrant.

Supporters of SB1070, Arizona's strict new immigration law, pointed to Krentz's slaying in arguing for the legislation.

SB1070 makes it a crime to not carry immigration documents and allows Arizona law enforcement to detain anyone who is suspected to be an illegal immigrant.

At an April 2 committee meeting in the Arizona Legislature, SB1070 supporters used Kretnz's death to justify the bill. Feet In 2 Worlds reports:

On Wednesday, supporters of SB 1070 wore black ribbons on their shirts in remembrance of Krentz as they attended a hearing on the bill by the Committee on Military Affairs and Public Safety.

"Enough is enough. Rob Krentz's death it's just one more example of government's failure to stand for it's citizens and the rule of law and protects citizens while we continue to harbor criminals and those that violate our sovereignty in our borders," said Sen. Russell Pearce (R-Mesa) author of the bill.

State Rep. David Gowan (R-Sierra Vista) told Feet In 2 Worlds that because of Krentz's murder, people from his area were "hammering and clamoring" for the passage of SB1070.

The bill was signed into law April 23 by Republican Governor Jan Brewer.

If Krentz's murder turns out to be unrelated to Mexican border violence, many people could be proven wrong.

Last month, during testimony before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever called Krentz's death an "exclamation point" on the discussion about Mexican violence spilling across the border.

Republican Senate candidate J.D. Hayworth, has made similar comments, and described Krentz as a "martyr" for border control. Hayworth even used Krentz's murder to "pound" incumbent Sen. John McCain over his immigration stance.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (R-AZ) also pointed to Krentz's slaying when she asked for National Guard troops to be deployed along Arizona's border just three days after his death.

Krentz's family has blamed his death on U.S. political forces and their "disregard" of warnings about violence. They support the deployment of National Guard forces along the border:

We hold no malice towards the Mexican people for this senseless act but do hold the political forces in this country and Mexico accountable for what has happened. Their disregard of our repeated pleas and warnings of impending violence towards our community fell on deaf ears shrouded in political correctness. As a result, we have paid the ultimate price for their negligence in credibly securing our Borderlands.

Comments

[madisonhack]

06:40 AM on 05/06/2010

The rancher was probably killed by a stray bullet from some nearby militia group that was exercising their rights under the Second Amendment and shooting about as accurately as they normally do.

[WOODSTOCKER51]

07:37 AM on 05/06/2010

...SOUNDS POSSIBLE.,,,,,AFTER ALL.,,,,SARAH DID SAY TO "RELOAD"...

[GrumpyinAZ]

10:37 AM on 05/05/2010

The Minuteman crazies are as bad as the Drug Smugglers and are sometimes tied in with them.
ARAYANZONA, like a Nursing Home with Guns

[mrJJ]

09:15 AM on 05/05/2010

Arizona Star newspaper reports U.S. suspect in rancher killing

The Arizona Star newspaper reports that credible government officials have told them that the suspect in the killing of Arizona rancher Robert Krentz is in the U.S. and handed over the information to the newspaper in order to "quell the fury over illegal immigration" that many proponents of the new radical Arizona anti-immigration law.

The official didn't specify the nationality of the suspect, only that the suspect is known to be in the U.S.

Krentz' slaying has elevated him to martyrdom in the raging debate over Arizona's draconian measures to fight illegal immigrants in the state. Many have used the Krentz slaying to rationalize the new Arizona bill. If Krentz' slaying was not perpetrated by an illegal immigrant, that fact will take the wind out of the sails of some of the proponents of Arizona bill SB 1070.

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-1172-Progressive-Politics-Examiner~y2010m5d5-Arizona-Star-newspaper-reports-US-suspect-in-rancher-killing#

[AZterritory]

11:20 PM on 05/04/2010

AZ Daily Star is usually a pretty good paper (compared to the rag AZ Republic in Phx), but this was premature. Actually the Sierra Vista Herald has pretty decent reporting on border issues, and they called this one right.

[willt7311]

07:00 PM on 05/04/2010

Consider yourself in good company as far as nuts go Mr. Sutherland.

[JimAK]

05:07 PM on 05/04/2010

When you first heard of the Times Square car bomb, did you guess that it was the work of radical Lutherans from Finland?

[MJHammonds]

06:03 PM on 05/04/2010

Your point?

Actually, the first suspects were right wing extremists, given the profile of the person photographed by security camera. But, the FBI did it's job to find out exactly who was responsible. Amazing how that kind of thing works.

[oxjr]

07:01 PM on 05/04/2010

actually I thought it was a Sarah Palin supporter who was trying to blow up a bunch of liberals going to see a Disney show (Lion King???) I mean she did order her followers to do that kind of stuff right?? But it was a dumb guy who looks like a Gino not a member of the "real America'' militia.

[JMBrodie]

02:23 PM on 05/04/2010

At the end of the day, no matter who the killer was, nothing justifies stigmatizing an entire group of people. Those who may have been offended at the idea that the person may have been white -- how did that feel? How did it feel to be implicated in something terrible that had nothing to do with you because you were innocent?

It is not a good feeling to be an innocent, decent, hard-working person, demonized by the acts of someone who shares little with you save for a possible home country.

Think about that.

[willt7311]

05:14 PM on 05/04/2010

Yes JM, think about it.

And make sure you lecture your lefty friends when they do the same thing.

[MJHammonds]

06:07 PM on 05/04/2010

Petty and trite.

[MJHammonds]

06:06 PM on 05/04/2010

You are spot on JM- and this is what is so tragic about our country in 2010. We have fought so hard, and so long, for people to be judged by who they are, and not the color of their skin, or their last name, or where their parents were born.

I think many of us had great hope when Obama was elected that we had left the worst behind us. Unfortunately, there is no rest for the weary.
Fortunately, we as a country are up to the task in ways we never were before. I will NOT quit.

[CTtransplant]

10:05 PM on 05/04/2010

I'm with you, MJ! Fanned!

[JMBrodie]

02:11 PM on 05/04/2010

Repost:

Charles "Chuck" Stuart (December 18, 1959–January 4, 1990) was a man from Reading, Massachusetts, who murdered his pregnant wife and inflamed racial tensions in the Boston area by concocting a fictitious African-American assailant.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Stuart_(murderer)

BTW, in this case, the police actually beat a "confession" out of an innocent Black man before they figured out Stewart had done it.

Others will bring up Susan Smith, Timothy McVeigh, while others counter with the Brawley case or the Duke rape case and miss a key point. Rushes to judgement, no matter who it is, is something we should all fight against.

Bottom line is that none of us know who killed that man in Arizona. And until we do, we should all take a step back and chill.

[MJHammonds]

06:07 PM on 05/04/2010

Amen, my friend.

[CTtransplant]

10:06 PM on 05/04/2010

x2

[carhac66]

11:22 AM on 05/04/2010

This law has nothing to do with violence or crime. Its just another "Jim Crow" law, supported by racist.

[Gasparilla]

10:25 AM on 05/04/2010

This headline states as facts things that are unproven. The suspect is believed to be "in this country". That does not prove he is "not an illegal immigrant". We do know that there was a large shipment of pot and eight Mexican nationals taken on his property the day before.

[backwoodsintellect]

10:47 AM on 05/04/2010

And last I knew 'American' is not a race. If it were, wouldn't everyone from the north pole to Panama be of the American race?

[AZterritory]

11:21 PM on 05/04/2010

;-) All the way to Tieerra del Fuego, too!

[backwoodsintellect]

10:48 AM on 05/04/2010

Or to the south pole, now that I think about it.

[AZterritory]

11:22 PM on 05/04/2010

Fanned.

[quietfortoolong2]

10:15 AM on 05/04/2010

You will never see anything meaningful done about illegal immigration. All empires and all civilizations from the dawn of man all have one thing in common - slavery. While illegal immigrants are not slaves, they are cheap labor, just like slaves, and industry is not about to cut off the supply of cheap labor that keeps the rich, rich. So, expect lip-service, paths to legalization that keep people locked in servitude for years, even more border controls, but nothing more.

If gov't and people were serious about stopping illegal immigration they would dis-incentivize it, not for the people who are crossing the border, but for the other side, the employers who are criminally taking advantage of those crossing ALL our borders to work here. Why is it that we always hear about "illegal aliens" (both negative connotation terms, mind you), but we hardly ever hear anything about "illegal oppressionists" or some other pithy catch-phrase for those who hire illegal immigrants?

Start locking up the employers, all day, every day, not just once a quarter, and watch the illegal immigration problem end within a year, if not a month. We've got our priorities backwards on this issue.

[josephking]

10:24 AM on 05/04/2010

Than you!

[JMBrodie]

02:15 PM on 05/04/2010

Agreed. The issue is not about demand for jobs, but the supply that drives the demand.

[qdog112]

10:10 AM on 05/04/2010

“AK47? This is an automatic weapon - right? can we assume the shooter got off at least one burst of fire? Maybe 10 rounds. The officer is hit once and the "smugglers" didn't make sure they finished the job?

Why did they shoot at him in the first place? Did he shoot first or return fire? In the desert, you don't shoot to wound or to scare.”

[tbone99]

10:50 AM on 05/04/2010

There would be no point. They could easly get away before anyone got there

[MJHammonds]

06:12 PM on 05/04/2010

"In the desert, you don't shoot to wound or scare?" Dude, no offense, but you have been watching too many movies. Not that I am buying the story.

[qdog112]

10:10 AM on 05/04/2010

Commented May 01, 2010 at 21:17:29 in Politics
“Once upon a time in Colorado, there was a publicity seeking man who had a balloon. It was a silver balloon and........

Once upon a time in AZ there was an ill conceived law. To bolster support for that ill conceived law ....”

[Cory111]

10:09 AM on 05/04/2010

It seems to me we refuse to attack to the reason we have all of these illegal’s entering our country, JOBS!!! They are not going to come up on vacation, basically they have on open invitation to come up and work. States refuse to take responsibility for the actions of businesses that employ these people. Why, because there is no other source of cheap labor.
We need an example, deport every illegal in Arizona and let’s see what happens to that states economy. Do you think you will fill these menial jobs at the unemployment department? How many people are going to rush down to Motel “6” to clean up the morning mess? How many people are going to walk into the restaurant and say, “This is what I’ve been looking for all of my life, my chance to wash dishes eight hours a day.”

We want their services but complain when it’s time to pay the piper. We enjoy all that the do on a daily basis yet complain. Don’t you think Home Depot likes illegals; they use the materials that their customers are buying. Are we willing to head down to the local car wash and apply for a job, I think not.

Close all businesses that hire illegal’s, no fines, closures then you will see Washington get off it’s duff…

The answer is, “Follow the money.”

[moose and squirrel]

10:12 AM on 05/04/2010

amen cory. well said.

[quietfortoolong2]

10:16 AM on 05/04/2010

Read my mind and typed faster! :D

[qdog112]

10:09 AM on 05/04/2010

Commented May 02, 2010 at 11:53:28 in Politics
“This story has more holes than the PGA Tour. How about some details? Where are the facts? Has AZ law enforcement circled the wagons to come up with a believable press release?

The silence speaks volumes. Is this Arizona's version of the "the black guy did it'? Anybody got the latest report on this?”