In This Issue: Vol 8, No. 1 (Summer, 2007)

Texas Sheriff Convicted of Violating Rights of Illegal Aliens

A popular young deputy sheriff of Edwards County, Texas (population 1,250), who was being groomed for sheriff, has been convicted on two counts of violating the civil rights of illegal aliens. Deputy Sheriff Guillermo “Gilmer” Hernandez was sentenced to 366 days in prison; fined $5,000; and ordered to pay restitution to the injured aliens in the amount of $5,300.

The felony charges stem from an incident on the night of April 14, 2005, in Rocksprings, a small Texan town on the Mexican border known for smuggling of illegal aliens and drugs. Shortly before midnight, Deputy Sheriff Hernandez observed a Chevy Suburban sports utility vehicle (SUV) failing to halt at a four-way stop sign. He put on the emergency lights in his police cruiser. When the SUV finally stopped, he saw that it was loaded with people lying on top of each other, which is typically how illegals are smuggled into the U.S.

As he approached the stopped vehicle on foot, the driver of the SUV suddenly put the vehicle into gear in an aggressive move to run over Hernandez. The deputy sheriff leaped to the side and fired at the tires. In a few moments, the vehicle crashed and the driver and eight illegals jumped out and ran. Left behind was one of the illegals, Marciela Rodriguez Garcia, whose head had been wedged above the tire chamber. Garcia sustained two broken teeth and cut lips from the bullet fragments.

The Mexican Consulate in San Antonio demanded that Hernandez be prosecuted. Thinking that he would be exonerated, the 25-year old deputy sheriff testified in his own defense and his lawyer presented no expert witnesses. However the U.S. District Attorney, Johnny Sutton, well known for securing the conviction and 11-year and 12-year sentences of two border patrol agents, Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, respectively,was eager for another conviction. Notably, Sutton did not prosecute the 10 illegal aliens in the SUV for breaking U.S. immigration laws, despite the fact that three of them admitted to paying $2,000 each to be taken from Mexico to Texas. Instead, a nonprofit organization in Texas is providing assistance to help them get their U.S. citizenship.

District Attorney Sutton offered Deputy Sheriff Hernandez probation in exchange for a guilty plea. The young officer refused since he had acted in self defense and in compliance with police regulations on the use of force. He had no way of knowing if the driver or any of the occupants was armed. He was simply doing his job.

Rocksprings has rallied behind its deputy sheriff. “Free Gilmer” signs are seen throughout the area, and the local churches are helping Mrs. Hernandez to meet the mortgage payments and other expenses while her husband is in jail. The couple’s first child was born last year.

“ Our deputy is in jail, basically for doing his job,” said Albert Green, the local Baptist preacher. “These people were in the country illegally. They were fleeing the law. What is law enforcement supposed to do?” he asked.

A dispatcher for the sheriff’s office explained: “We’re right on the border. When you stop a loaded vehicle, you don’t know if it’s illegals, drug smugglers, or even terrorists.”
Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX) said that prosecution of Deputy Sheriff Hernandez is “another example of how the federal government is more concerned about people [who are] illegally invading American than it is about the men who protect America. Once again, our government is on the wrong side of the border war.”

LELDF is assisting Deputy Sheriff Hernandez with an appeal and a citizens campaign to petition President Bush to pardon him.