Continued incidents like these will give rise to more violent border
patrol militia groups, ones that will operate more secretly and will
not want to cooperate with law enforcement at all, unlike the ones
operating right now.
Officers catch two, continue hunt for remaining suspected robbers
By David J. Lee
Odessa American
BREWSTER COUNTY — A manhunt continued Saturday night for seven of the
nine Mexican nationals accused of robbing a ranch between Marathon and
Sanderson.
Two men were caught Saturday afternoon, but Sheriff Ronnie Dodson said
the other seven, including a young girl, were heading toward the
Odessa area.
"The two we caught walked almost back to where the stolen car was
found," Dodson said. "They got cold and hungry. They gave us
information that the others were headed toward Odessa-Midland — that's
their ultimate goal. They're looking for cars to steal on ranches so
they won't have to walk."
Dodson said the group has probably broken into at least two smaller
groups.
"These two broke off today and possibly another two may have broken
off," Dodson said. "For the rest, their ultimate goal is, again, to
get to Odessa-Midland."
About 3 p.m. Friday, the sheriff's office got a call that the Mexican
nationals had tied up some people at the Wyert's Ranch and taken a
..22-caliber firearm and a cream-colored Ford Crown Victoria.
The vehicle was found abandoned in Pecos County a few hours later.
"They broke into the main house there at the Wyert's Ranch, then broke
into where the workers work," Dodson said. "When the workers returned
home, they walked in on them."
Dodson said the Mexican nationals had taken all the guns and knives in
the main house and used those guns to rob the ranchhands of their
recently acquired paychecks.
"Then they went outside and poked holes in all the car tires and stole
the cream-colored Crown Victoria," Dodson said. "They didn't look in
the barn though, where the workers had one other car, and that's how
they drove back to Marathon where they made the report."
The Department of Public Safety helicopter, U.S. Customs, the border
patrol and the Pecos County Sheriff's Office were helping the Brewster
County sheriff with the search.
Dodson said the group originally had 18 members, but nine were
arrested by border patrol agents last week while trying to steal a
Jeep.
"We had that first group and now this one at the Wyert's," Dodson
said. "They've been making themselves a nuisance all week."
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