Murders of Raul and Brisenia Flores

Murders of Raul and Brisenia Flores
Floreses' murders

Junior and Brisenia Flores
Location 36000 block, Mesquite Rd
Arivaca, Arizona
Date 30 May 2009
c. 5 a.m. (UTC-7)
Attack type Burglary/
Home Invasion
Premeditated murder
Weapon(s) Firearm
Death(s) Raul "Junior" Flores, 29
and his daughter
Brisenia Flores, 9
Perpetrator Shawna Forde
Suspected perpetrator(s) Jason Eugene "Gunny" Bush
Albert Robert Gaxiola
Defender Victims' wife, mother
Gina Marie Gonzalez, 31

On May 30, 2009, Raul "Junior" Flores, 29, and his daughter, Brisenia, 9, of Arivaca, Arizona, were murdered during a home-invasion by Shawna Forde and accomplices.[1] Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said the attackers hoped to rob the Flores-Gonzales family.

Gina Marie Gonzalez, 31, Junior's wife, was in the home during the attack. Gonzalez called 911 emergency services when the assailants left the home for a few moments. While Gonzalez was on the phone, the assailants reentered the home and Gonzalez fired a handgun of her husband's, wounding one of the assailants. Gonzalez identified two men, one "white," the other "Mexican," and a white woman as her attackers.[2] Gonzales said it was the white man who had murdered her daughter and husband.

An early exchange within the 911 call is as follows:

Gonzalez: "They shot me and I pretended like I was dead. My daughter was crying. They shot her, too.

Operator: "Are they still there, the people who, that shot them?"

Gonzalez: "They're coming back in! They're coming back in!" (Gunfire.)[3]

Another Flores daughter, 12, had been at her grandmother's home in Sahuarita, Arizona, during the attack.[4]

Contents

Assailants

Shawna Forde

Shawna Forde (born December 6, 1967 (1967-12-06) (age 43)[5]), of Buena Vista, Arizona,[6] was convicted of this crime and sentenced to death.[7] She formed and was the self styled Executive Director of the anti-illegal immigration group, Minutemen Civil Defense Corps even though she exhibited "unstable" behavior, later formed a splinter group (Minutemen American Defense or M.A.D.) to pursue her political goals. Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik alleged Forde to have planned and ordered the murders of Flores.

Shawna Forde, along with supporters from organizations she formed and was a member of maintain her innocence, claiming racial profiling and improper investigatory work.[8]

Biography

Forde has asserted that she had formerly been the promoter of a grunge rock band; she has also worked as a youth counselor, aircraft factory worker, and as a licensed cosmetologist and esthetician.[9] Forde ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Everett, Washington City Council in 2007.[9][10]

Forde had several run-ins with the law before her arrest for double murder. Court records show that she served time in juvenile lock-ups for repeated convictions involving theft, burglary and prostitution. Forde married four times. In 1989, her future husband sought court protection from Forde claiming that she had physically attacked him and threatened to hurt herself with a knife. In 2007, she was charged with stealing a small container of chocolate milk from an Everett grocery store, which Forde described as a misunderstanding. While running for the Everett City Council, her son was convicted of assaulting the owner of the beauty salon at which she was employed. In January 2008, Forde accused members of a drug cartel of sexually assaulting and shooting her, however, she later suggested the alleged culprits were actually criminal associates of her son. Forde's brother alleges she fabricated the story, and authorities closed the case due to insufficient evidence.[11] In 2007, she first became involved in the anti-illegal immigration activities and later joined the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps. However, she was asked to leave the organization in February 2007 after members described her as being "unstable". Forde later founded a splinter group, the Minutemen American Defense (M.A.D.) organization, which had 14 members at the time of the attack on the Flores family.[9][12]

On February 14, 2011, Shawna Forde was found guilty of all eight counts for which she was being prosecuted[13]: two counts of first degree murder for Raul and Brisenia, one count of attempted first degree murder for Brisenia's mother Gina Gonzalez, two counts of aggravated assault and one count each of burglary, armed robbery, and aggravated robbery.[14] On February 22, 2011 she was sentenced to death by a Tucson jury, becoming the 3rd woman on Arizona's death row.[15]

Gunny Bush

Jason Eugene "Gunny" Bush (born LaGrande, Oregon August 11, 1974 (1974-08-11) (age 37)[16]), of Meadview, Arizona, is M.A.D.'s National Director of Operations. Bush was shot in the leg during the same time frame as the attack.

Bush is Forde's second in command. He has ties to the Aryan Nation and was also charged in June 2009 with the 1997 murder of Hector Lopez Partida in Wenatchee, Washington.[17] He is also charged with the Sept. 1997 execution styled killing of his Aryan Nation associate, Jonathan Bumstead, also of Wenatchee, WA for supposedly committing the "crime" of "being a 'race-traitor'". Later in 1997, Bush was imprisoned for the theft of a car and for his possession of a firearm (unlawful because Bush was already a felon, from a previous conviction).[18][19] After he was released in 2003, Bush moved to Sandpoint, Idaho, where he lived until 2007.[20] Bush is also suspected in at least 2 additional killings during the latter part of 1997. According to information that was provided to Washington state detectives, Bush is alleged to have, on two separate instances, shown up at acquaintances residences covered in blood, and asking to be allowed to clean up there, as he had "just finished taking care of some business". Detectives are currently attempting to find any links to unresolved cases.

In April 2011, Bush received the death penalty for the Flores murders, and in May 2011 another 78 years for other crimes.[21]

Albert Gaxiola

Albert Robert Gaxiola (born February 9, 1967 (1967-02-09) (age 44)[22]), of Arivaca, Arizona, is believed to have provided intelligence about drug activities in the area to the M.A.D.[23][24][25][26] Gaxiola had been imprisoned on marijuana charges from 1992 to 2000.[18] According to Gonzalez, Gaxiola and Flores had an on-going dispute that had originated in 2008 over marijuana belonging to Gaxiola that had been stored at Flores's residence.[27] The head of the Tucson office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, Anthony Coulson told the Arizona Daily Star, "Raul Flores was a drug-trafficker." Today, the DEA declines to comment on Mr. Flores.[28]

Alleged involvement of Minutemen American Defense

Minutemen American Defense is a militant nativist splinter group founded in the late 2000s by Forde after she was expelled[citation needed] from the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps. Various Forde family members and some of Forde's associates said that Forde began to rob presumed drug dealers in 2009, in hopes of raising funds to benefit her vigilante group. Chuck Stonex, of Alamogordo, New Mexico, a former member who quit the organization after Forde's arrest, says that M.A.D. had about 14 members and that Forde termed its covert missions "Delta One Operations." Stonex said Forde intended to fund the purchase of a 40-acre (16 ha) property in southern Arizona where she had intended to establish a base for her group's border operations.[29]

See also

Portal icon Arizona portal
Portal icon Crime portal


References

  1. ^ "Arizona: Border Activist Sentenced to Death". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/23/us/23brfs-BORDERACTIVI_BRF.html. Retrieved 2011-02-22. 
  2. ^ [1][dead link]
  3. ^ "Survivor: I pretended to be dead | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | KOMO News | News". KOMO News. 2009-06-17. http://www.komonews.com/news/48296962.html. Retrieved 2011-01-24. 
  4. ^ By PMC (2008-07-28). "Alberto Gaxiola | Mexico Trucker Online". Mexicotrucker.com. http://mexicotrucker.com/tag/alberto-gaxiola. Retrieved 2011-01-24. 
  5. ^ "F_inmate". Sheriff.pima.gov. http://www.sheriff.pima.gov/inmate/F_inmate.html. Retrieved 2011-01-24. 
  6. ^ Patrick Oppmann (2009-06-23). "Rogue Minutemen leader held in fatal home invasion". CNN.com. http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/23/arizona.slaying.minutemen/?iref=hpmostpop#cnnSTCText. Retrieved 2011-01-24. 
  7. ^ "Arizona jury sentences border activist to death". SeattleTimes.nwsource.com. 2011-02-22. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014302509_apusborderactivistdeathpenalty3rdldwritethru.html. Retrieved 2011-02-22. 
  8. ^ http://www.justiceforshawnaforde.com/ Justice for Shawna Forde Website - February 23, 2011.
  9. ^ a b c North, Scott (2009-02-22). "Local news: Trouble finds Shawna Forde". HeraldNet.com. http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20090222/NEWS01/702229930. Retrieved 2011-01-24. 
  10. ^ "The Nativists | Southern Poverty Law Center". SPLCenter.org. http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?pid=1522. Retrieved 2011-01-24. 
  11. ^ "Lethally Blonde – An expose of Shawna Forde". Immigrationclearinghouse.org. 2007-05-16. http://immigrationclearinghouse.org/lethally-blonde-an-expose-of-shawna-forde/. Retrieved 2011-01-24. 
  12. ^ "UPDATED (9/8/09): Death Penalty Sought Against Border Vigilante Leaders for Alleged Murders". ADL.org. http://www.adl.org/main_Extremism/Shawna-Forde-Arrested.htm. Retrieved 2011-01-24. 
  13. ^ http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/02/minuteman_vigilante_shawna_forde_convicted_for_brisenia_flores_murder.html
  14. ^ "Arizona vigilante found guilty of murdering Latino man, daughter". CNN. 2011-02-15. http://edition.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/02/14/arizona.double.killing.verdict/. 
  15. ^ http://www.azcorrections.gov/inmate_datasearch/Minh_NewDeathRow.aspx Arizona Department of Corrections Death Row Demographics - Retrieved February 23rd, 2011.
  16. ^ "B_inmate". Sheriff.pima.gov. http://www.sheriff.pima.gov/inmate/B_inmate.html. Retrieved 2011-01-24. 
  17. ^ Clarridge, Christine (2009-06-17). "Local News | Former Everett woman's arrest rekindles interest in other cases | Seattle Times Newspaper". Seattletimes.nwsource.com. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009347688_shawnaforde17m0.html. Retrieved 2011-01-24. 
  18. ^ a b http://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache:http://www.sahuaritasun.com/articles/2009/06/17/news/00arivacanew617.txt
  19. ^ North, Scott (2009-06-18). "HeraldNet.com - Local news: Murder suspect not the military veteran he claims to be". Enterprisenewspapers.com. http://www.enterprisenewspapers.com/article/20090618/NEWS01/706189914/0/ETPZONELT. Retrieved 2011-01-24. 
  20. ^ "Local News | Anti-immigration advocate held in '97 slaying | Seattle Times Newspaper". Seattletimes.nwsource.com. 2009-06-16. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009342954_forde16m.html. Retrieved 2011-01-24. 
  21. ^ Smith, Kim. "Bush, on possible restitution: 'Get real! I'm going to death row'". Arizona Daily Star. http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/article_2d02b27f-6f84-50ea-93e3-03811a144da2.html. 
  22. ^ "G_inmate". Sheriff.pima.gov. http://www.sheriff.pima.gov/inmate/G_inmate.html. Retrieved 2011-01-24. 
  23. ^ [2][dead link]
  24. ^ [3][dead link]
  25. ^ North, Scott (2009-06-13). "Local news: Activist Shawna Forde charged in double slaying". HeraldNet.com. http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20090613/NEWS01/706139922/0/OPINION02#Activist.Shawna.Forde.charged.in.double.slaying. Retrieved 2011-01-24. 
  26. ^ [4][dead link]
  27. ^ S=10591492&nav=HMO6HMaW
  28. ^ Vanderpool, Tim (January 14, 2010). "Murder in the Desert". Tucson Weekly. http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/murder-in-the-desert/Content?oid=1739974. 
  29. ^ [5][dead link]

External links

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  • Minuteman Civil Defense Corps — Not to be confused with Minuteman Project. The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps is a volunteer group headed by Chris Simcox and dedicated to preventing illegal crossings of the United States border. Arguing that the government is insufficiently… …   Wikipedia

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