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Tombstone Militia Leader Faces Federal Firearm Cha
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Tombstone militia leader pleads not guilty on weapons charge
On StarNet: The Star's 2002 profile of Simcox is part of the in-depth coverage at azstarnet.com/border
By Michael Marizco
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
The leader of a Tombstone militia pleaded not guilty Thursday to federal misdemeanor weapons charges.
Chris Simcox, founder of the Civil Homeland Defense, was arrested in January on three misdemeanor charges that he walked into Coronado National Memorial carrying a firearm.
It is illegal to carry a firearm on National Park Service land. Simcox was also accused of lying to the ranger about carrying the gun. The national memorial is south of Sierra Vista.
Simcox and his group patrol Cochise County, searching and apprehending illegal border crossers.
Simcox said he's not guilty because he walked into an area of the park that was not marked by any sign and says he'll take his case to a jury. A trial date has not been set. The charges Simcox faces carry a penalty of at least six months in prison, said Harriet Bernick, legal adviser for the public affairs unit of the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Simcox should save his arguments for the courtroom rather than air them in public, U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton said through Bernick.
"We invite him to bring any concerns to the court. We intend to dispose of this case in the same venue," Charlton said.
Legal troubles also are facing two other people involved in border-watch activities along the Arizona-Mexican border.
The leader of Arivaca-based group Border Watch, Miguel Guzman, was indicted last month on charges of smuggling illegal entrants.
In Cochise County, Glenn Spencer, the leader of American Border Patrol, was arrested earlier this month on five felony weapons counts. Authorities say he fired three shots with a rifle, hitting his neighbor's garage. Spencer has said he was concerned about a recent burglary and death threats he had received, and that he fired after hearing noises outside his home.
* Contact reporter Michael Marizco at 573-4213 or mmarizco@azstarnet.com.
http://www.azstarnet.com/star/today/30822SIMCOX2fpmb2fsib.html
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878<P>
On StarNet: The Star's 2002 profile of Simcox is part of the in-depth coverage at azstarnet.com/border
By Michael Marizco
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
The leader of a Tombstone militia pleaded not guilty Thursday to federal misdemeanor weapons charges.
Chris Simcox, founder of the Civil Homeland Defense, was arrested in January on three misdemeanor charges that he walked into Coronado National Memorial carrying a firearm.
It is illegal to carry a firearm on National Park Service land. Simcox was also accused of lying to the ranger about carrying the gun. The national memorial is south of Sierra Vista.
Simcox and his group patrol Cochise County, searching and apprehending illegal border crossers.
Simcox said he's not guilty because he walked into an area of the park that was not marked by any sign and says he'll take his case to a jury. A trial date has not been set. The charges Simcox faces carry a penalty of at least six months in prison, said Harriet Bernick, legal adviser for the public affairs unit of the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Simcox should save his arguments for the courtroom rather than air them in public, U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton said through Bernick.
"We invite him to bring any concerns to the court. We intend to dispose of this case in the same venue," Charlton said.
Legal troubles also are facing two other people involved in border-watch activities along the Arizona-Mexican border.
The leader of Arivaca-based group Border Watch, Miguel Guzman, was indicted last month on charges of smuggling illegal entrants.
In Cochise County, Glenn Spencer, the leader of American Border Patrol, was arrested earlier this month on five felony weapons counts. Authorities say he fired three shots with a rifle, hitting his neighbor's garage. Spencer has said he was concerned about a recent burglary and death threats he had received, and that he fired after hearing noises outside his home.
* Contact reporter Michael Marizco at 573-4213 or mmarizco@azstarnet.com.
http://www.azstarnet.com/star/today/30822SIMCOX2fpmb2fsib.html
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878<P>
Comments
Louie Villalobos
8/20/2003
Yuma Sun
Anyone wanting to make a citizen's arrest can use whatever force they see fit, but will be held to the same standards as law enforcement officers when it comes to justifying their actions, Yuma County officials say.
What exactly constitutes a legal citizen's arrest has become an issue after two men were arrested and criminally charged when they detained six illegal immigrants at gunpoint and with handcuffs last month.
Each man is now facing six counts of aggravated assault, five counts of unlawful imprisonment and one count of conspiracy to commit unlawful imprisonment following the incident.
As the men, Matthew Hoffman and Alexander Dumas, begin their court process, The Sun asked The Yuma County Sheriff's Office, the Yuma County Attorney's Office and a local gun shop about what citizens are permitted to do when attempting to detain someone they feel has broken the law.
In almost every case, the answer is simple. A citizen can place anyone committing a felony under arrest and use any level of force to detain that person, provided the level of force matches that of the suspect.
"If (the suspect) has the means and opportunity to use deadly physical force against you, you are authorized and justified in using force to protect yourself," said Yuma County Sheriff's Lt. Eben Bratcher.
Both Bratcher and the Yuma County Attorney's Office directed The Sun to Section 13-3884 of the Arizona Revised Statutes, which specifically addresses arrests made by private citizens.
The statute lists two specific instances where an arrest can be made. First, "when the person to be arrested has in his presence committed a misdemeanor amounting to a breach of the peace, or a felony." Second, "when a felony has been in fact committed and he has reasonable ground to believe that the person to be arrested has committed it."
Bratcher said though that statute deals specifically with citizen's arrests, entering the country illegally is a federal misdemeanor and doesn't qualify as a breach of the peace, meaning the state statute would not apply in this case.
County officials said the state statute can't be used to justify the detention of illegal immigrants, unless it is done on private property, where the illegal immigrants would be trespassing.
Officials have said Hoffman and Dumas were on federal land when they allegedly detained the illegal immigrants.
There are other state statutes that can be applied to a citizen's arrest in connection with felonies, though.
A reading of the statutes shows that citizens are allowed to detain a person they feel has committed a felony or a breach of the peace and use force, but the suspect may not be subject to "greater restraint than necessary for his detention," according to statute 13-3881.
Essentially, that means a citizen can detain a suspect and use force to do so, but will have to justify the amount of force used. That's what people seeking concealed weapons licenses are taught, said Ronnie Gissendaner, manager of Sprague's Sports.
"The situation has to be more or less life-threatening," Gissendaner said. "Or what a reasonable person feels is life-threatening."
http://www.2ndamendment.com/Miscellaneous/News/20030821-07.htm
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878<P>