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IN BRIEF :
Iraq War Veteran, Jose Guerena, Killed by Arizona SWAT Team
Tim Cavanaugh writes about the tragic killing of former US Marine, Jose Guerena, by a Pima County SWAT Team:
Guerena, who joined the Marines in 2002 and served two tours in Iraq, was killed just after 9 a.m. May 5. Guerera had just gone to bed after working a 12-hour shift at a local mine when his home was invaded as part of a multi-house crackdown by sheriff’s deputies.
Like enemy of the state Osama bin Laden, Guerena died with his wife close by. Widow Vanessa Guerena, who hid with her four-year-old son when sheriff’s deputies raided the home, fills in detail that has been slow to come from Pima County Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik’s office.
Vanessa Guerena told reporters:
"I never imagined I would lose him like that, he was badly injured but I never thought he could be killed by police after he served his country," Vanessa Guerena said.
The family’s 5-year-old son was at school that morning and deputies say they thought Guerena’s wife and his other child would also be gone when they entered the home.
Guerena says there were no drugs in their house.
Deputies said they seized a "large sum of money from another house" that morning. But they refused to say from which of the homes searched that morning they found narcotics, drug ledgers or drug paraphernalia. Court documents showing what was being sought and was found have not been made public. A computer check on Guerena revealed a couple of traffic tickets and no criminal history.
Initially the Sheriff’s office told reporters that Guerena had threatened officers with a gun, but their story has since changed.
Apparently one of the SWAT team’s deputies accidentally fired his gun, leading to confusion. Other deputies began firing on the home, where wife Vanessa and their four-year-old son hid in a closet. Jose Guerena was shot 60 times. Officers fired a total of 71 rounds into the home.
Jose died while medics waited outside, prevented by the deputies from entering the home for over an hour after the shooting. They were not permitted to enter the home until they had already learned that Jose was dead.
Jose Guerena was 26. He is survived by his wife Vanessa and their two sons. No drugs were found in their home, and the family had no criminal record. Indeed, the only record Guerena had was his military record. He survived two tours in Iraq, but could not survive our War on Drugs.
IN BRIEF :
Iraq War Veteran, Jose Guerena, Killed by Arizona SWAT Team
Tim Cavanaugh writes about the tragic killing of former US Marine, Jose Guerena, by a Pima County SWAT Team:
Guerena, who joined the Marines in 2002 and served two tours in Iraq, was killed just after 9 a.m. May 5. Guerera had just gone to bed after working a 12-hour shift at a local mine when his home was invaded as part of a multi-house crackdown by sheriff’s deputies.
Like enemy of the state Osama bin Laden, Guerena died with his wife close by. Widow Vanessa Guerena, who hid with her four-year-old son when sheriff’s deputies raided the home, fills in detail that has been slow to come from Pima County Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik’s office.
Vanessa Guerena told reporters:
"I never imagined I would lose him like that, he was badly injured but I never thought he could be killed by police after he served his country," Vanessa Guerena said.
The family’s 5-year-old son was at school that morning and deputies say they thought Guerena’s wife and his other child would also be gone when they entered the home.
Guerena says there were no drugs in their house.
Deputies said they seized a "large sum of money from another house" that morning. But they refused to say from which of the homes searched that morning they found narcotics, drug ledgers or drug paraphernalia. Court documents showing what was being sought and was found have not been made public. A computer check on Guerena revealed a couple of traffic tickets and no criminal history.
Initially the Sheriff’s office told reporters that Guerena had threatened officers with a gun, but their story has since changed.
Apparently one of the SWAT team’s deputies accidentally fired his gun, leading to confusion. Other deputies began firing on the home, where wife Vanessa and their four-year-old son hid in a closet. Jose Guerena was shot 60 times. Officers fired a total of 71 rounds into the home.
Jose died while medics waited outside, prevented by the deputies from entering the home for over an hour after the shooting. They were not permitted to enter the home until they had already learned that Jose was dead.
Jose Guerena was 26. He is survived by his wife Vanessa and their two sons. No drugs were found in their home, and the family had no criminal record. Indeed, the only record Guerena had was his military record. He survived two tours in Iraq, but could not survive our War on Drugs.
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