HORRIFIC VIDEO Shows Moment Iraq War Vet Was Shot Dead In His Home
Posted by Jim Hoft on Friday, May 27, 2011, 10:40 PM
DRAMATIC FOOTAGE Shows Pima County SWAT Team Gunning Down Iraq Vet Inside His Home.
The SWAT Team beat in his door and fired 70 rounds at the Iraq War veteran before he fired a shot.
The Pima County SWAT team shot an Iraq War veteran dead in his home.
They shot Jose Guerena 60 times after they barged into his home.
Jose Guerena, 26,survived two tours of duty in Iraq as a marine, only to be gunned down in a hail of 71 bullets in his own Tucson, Arizona home. (Daily Mail)
The Daily Mail reported:
A U.S. Marine who was killed when he was gunned down in his home near Tucson, Arizona, never fired on the SWAT team that stormed his house firing 70 times in a hail of bullets, a report has revealed.
The revelation came as dramatic footage of the shooting was released, showing the armed team pounding down the door of Jose Guerena’s home and opening fire.
The father-of-two, who had served twice in Iraq, died on May 5 after the SWAT team descended on his home believing it was one of four houses associated with a drug smuggling operation.
The terrifying footage shows the uniformed team pulling up outside Jose Guerena’s home, sounding their sirens and banging on the door before kicking it in.
The sound of bullets then rings out as they open fire shortly after entering the home.
Deputies said they opened fire after Guerena, 26, gestured at them with an AR-15, according to the report.
Some of the officers said they believed that Guerena fired on them, but the investigation showed that no shots were fired from the weapon and it was never taken off the safety position.
ADVERTISEMENT
-
Featured Story:
Rough Night… Obama Loses 36 Arkansas Counties to Unknown Democrat – Loses 67 Kentucky Counties to “Uncommitted”
Published May 23, 2012 at 4:57 am - 64 Comments
rumcrook commented:
wow….
its allmost like they just drove up and executed him…….
but this is smart police work, nothing to see here,
no other way to handle serving warants… except to go commando….
this is an utterly reasonable way for police to act….
Moemo commented:
Our troops can’t fire until fired upon, but our police can?
wanumba commented:
Pima County is Sheriff Dupnick – the guy who got on national TV and accused conservatives and Republicans of being the reason Gabriel Giffords was shot.
A Marine is a rifleman, he was more careful with his weapon than the SWAT team was with theirs.
Doc54 commented:
So much for innocent till proven guilty in a court of law! Police force gone MAD! Judge, jury, and executioner right at the front door, WTF????????????????
donh commented:
It does look like an ordered assassination. Was Guerena a birthir? Did he know something damning about the war ? about Sherrif Dupnick ? accomplices to Jarred Loughner ? Were any of these SWAT members muslim ? Incompetance does not explain away such raw evil. Bin Laden was a rare exception. If our Marines in Afganistan kicked in a door and slaughtered a family like this, they would be jailed on murder charges. These sickos will all get promotions same as the Ruby Ridge killers.
retire05 commented:
Ah, yes, Sheriff Dupnik. Remember how he ran his mouth on every tv station that would interview him when Gabby Giffords was shot and others murdered? Remember how Dupnik said it was trash talking from the right wing that caused Jared Loughtner to murder so many people?
Seems now that Sheriff Dupnik has gone silent, with his department saying that they really can’t talk about a crime investigation. Odd how that has changed in just a few short months, isn’t it?
Dupnik needs to be fired, and Guerena’s widow needs to sue Dupnik personally.
wanumba commented:
Did they profile him according to Janet Napolitano’s guidelines?
Andrew X commented:
I know this sounds appallingly cycical, but it is in fact the both politically palatable AND right thing to do…..
Namely, isn’t it time for conservatives across the country to go after Sherriff “Barney” Dupnik, given his loathsome behavior after the Giffords shooting, and now this?
Gee, ya think if this were Joe Arpaio’s people shooting an illegal immigrant, that our friends on the left would miss a beat in going after him? Ya think???
Just sayin’.
retire05 commented:
A five man swat team unloaded 70 slugs into one man? That is an average of 14 shots each. Are these clowns not trained to do a taked-down shot meant to reduce the threat while not killing the subject? Who the hell trained these clowns?
Are they suspended pending an IA investigation? Where is LaRaza, LULAC, MALDEF? Where is the Congressional Hispanic Caucus? Oh, that’s right; Dupnik is one of their party.
Tjexcite commented:
gestured at them with an AR-15
If he had a roll of toilet paper and gestured at them with it the outcome would have been the same.
Yet some would still yell the famous quote …..The police acted stupidly /Obama
If you need a AR-15 to protect yourself from your fellow man it is time to change your location and or the culture in which you live.
Zelsdorf Ragshaft III commented:
Someone should be held accountable for the murder of this veteran. Maybe the branch of service this guy was in should pay a visit like with a seal team or special forces to the swat teams homes.
Lc Scott commented:
I’d like to see the uncut version of the tape.
Studious Citizen commented:
A warrant…for what? They found no money, no narcotics, and they prevented EMS from entering until he was dead. The wife said there was no knock at the door, no announcement that it was the police…the guy had just gotten back from third shift, and he thought he was being robbed. And he had better discipline than the SWAT kill team.
I’m not much for conspiracy theories, but this looks like a hit.
Studious Citizen commented:
“If you need a AR-15 to protect yourself from your fellow man it is time to change your location and or the culture in which you live.”
This comment is wrong on so many levels.
CatoRenasci commented:
The scumbag cops should all be turned over to Guerena’s fellow Marines for a little extra-curricular attitude adjustment of the permanent variety.
jony101 commented:
this sounds like something the gestapo would do. I compare them to the gestapo and don’t really have too much respect for the police who are at most union thugs with guns. In San Diego the cops are raping hookers. Sometimes its more dangerous to call the police who overreact with guns drawn and possibly shoot an innocent bystander with no consequences. The investigation will show that the swat team acted appropriately and no one will get fired, its just the way it is. The government has no respect for war veterans it seems, Holder won’t be conducting a special investigation to see if the the veterans rights were violated.
135east commented:
And in the space of that raid how many illegal aliens slipped across our borders and into the country that Jose Guerena defended with his life?
Priorities…
Matt commented:
I would caution you about making Guerena into a folk hero.
There is a good possibility he was a drug dealer.
nadadhimmi commented:
Murder, pure and simple.But then, our fascists like Dupnic and Obama understand a few murdered Americans, especially slaughtered before their wives and children in their own homes will keep the rest of the Proles in line. They are wrong, it will infuriate Americans.
rumcrook commented:
theres lots of possiblities in the world matt.
what is clear is they drove up and executed him.
and he was a two tour in iraq decorated vet.
your caution is basically saying its perfectly al right for the cops to act like a paramilitery force and drive up to any home with a search warant and become judge jury and executioner.
Ive done some looking around about this case and a lot of smearing is going on by the cops but not much substance as to his being some kind of bad actor.
its been plenty of time if their were proof of his being a bad actor.
instead all we get is either more smears or silence from the police.
put up or shut up at this point. I say that to all and the pima sherriff
im going to stand on his record of whit, he was a marine, he was a good family man, and he surved honorably in iraq.
whats the pima sherriff standing on?
whatchugot besides inuendo and spin.
Studious Citizen commented:
“I would caution you about making Guerena into a folk hero.
“There is a good possibility he was a drug dealer.”
Based on the evidence, or rather, the total lack of narcotics evidence and the fact that he was working nights to support his family, I’d say there’s no chance. They found ZERO evidence in his house. They made sure he died by preventing EMS from getting to him until after he was dead.
rumcrook commented:
a verified memorial fund.
a bank account setup through Bank of America where you can make monetary donations to a memorial fund for Jose Guerena’s family. The acct number is: #457022390833
The name is : Jose Guerena Memorial Acct
rumcrook commented:
the unprofessionalis in the video is surreal.
it is horribly botched.
you even see on flunky reach over the rest and fire his pistol blindly into the home.
this is the visual record these cops want to hang their hats on?
they look like clowns and they should have to find a new line of work
kato commented:
Pick 100 Americans at random and 100 cops, and there will be more criminals among the cops — by far.
The biggest criminal of all here is Sheriff Dupnik.
KOW commented:
FoxNews said it was a mistake. Wrong guy for the drug raid.
Not sure they are correct about that, at least yet.
Those involved have changed their story so much, hard to keep up with the latest.
This kind of gets us stuck in the middle. We normally support cops, FBI, SWAT, but we also know they do screw up.
This one looks to be a screw up.
Right or wrong, there is a dead Vet.
Part of me wonders if this was NY, and if the guy was an African American, would we be saying they did the right thing? I mean, this has happened in NY and the cops got off.
I think we tend to support the Iraq Vet, no matter the skin color, race.
KOW commented:
I wonder if the siren was from the SWAT team, or the vehicle car alarm.
They do knock, but within like 5 seconds they bust the door down. Why knock? I would not consider that a knock at all. Only reason there was a knock was to say they knocked.
I watch a lot of the Manhunters show on A&E, the US Marshals, they knock and knock and knock. Only once have I seen them bust in, I think it was after a quick knock. They were the US Marshals in Puerto Rico.
Papa Giorgio commented:
If he was holding a weapon, the SWAT team took the same action this young Marine was trained to do as well. If you breach a door and see a man with an AK-47, you shoot first and ask questions later.
Papa Giorgio commented:
I have to agree with KOW… being a vet does not mean you are not into drug rings. I bet there is a vet on the SWAT team as well, and?
Rancid commented:
@ jony101: #16 May 27, 2011 at 11:40 pm
re: “this sounds like something the gestapo would do”
Yes, jony101, there does seem to be that flavor about the entire video. Our security and police forces seem to be changing their images right before our eye’s. Between the TSA groping grandmothers and aggressive cops pulling their guns on people with video camera’s – this seems to be just an extension of a pattern. If the government keeps this up they’ll have themselves a fine internal police force to keep the citizens in line.
@ Matt: #18 May 28, 2011 at 12:07 am
re: “There is a good possibility he was a drug dealer”
Ph*ck-off a**hole! Even hard core drug dealers are given more slack than these clowns gave this American citizen. These men were NOT upholding the law, they were acting in a LAWLESS manner. The cops,”Protect & Serve”? Not in Jose Guerena’s lifetime it looks like – but his life is over, so we can talk about him all we want, eh? You suck Matt.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
My question is, where did the video come from? Sure, it was shot with a helmet cam, but what route did it travel to be uploaded and WHY? Was someone feeling guilty, and want to set the record straight? Did someone’s girlfriend or boyfriend snag it, and upload it onto YouTube? What’s really going on here – most police chiefs would want to disappear this video real bad.
Gman commented:
This guy was a suspect in multiple home invasions. The police broke in to serve a warrant and encountered the suspect kneeling with an AR-15 M4 pointed at them. They did the right thing. I hate Sheriff Dipstick as much as the next guy but police can’t wait to have one of their own shot before the asses the suspect as a threat. They have a split second to act.
However if this was Sheriff Joe I have no doubt that their would be thousands of people outside his office right now demanding he resign.
Jet commented:
If they weren’t guilty of murder when they attacked him they were certainly guilty when they allowed him to bleed to death for 1.15 hours. If they are not tried in a court of law within a year it will be clear that there is no rule of law in America and we might as well rename ourselves Mexico. Worse if the US marines lets a vet cut down in cold blood without doing anything they should disband themselves as a sham organization.
Gman commented:
By the way I live here in AZ and you are not hearing everything. This guy sounds like a bad person.
Don’t jump to conclusions just because the Sheriff is a moron.
If you need a AR-15 to protect yourself from your fellow man it is time to change your location and or the culture in which you live.
That is an idiotic thing to say. I own an AR-15. Not because I live in a bad neighborhood but because it is my constitutional right and you never no if you might ever need it. Better to have a gun when you need one rather than need a gun and not have one.
Sasja commented:
Gman. Could you elaborate, please? What have you heard and is it backed up with evidence?
avery commented:
Even in Vietnam in 1965 it got to the point that you couldn”t fired untill fired on.This killing was uncalled for.
squeaky commented:
[...show that the four houses served with search warrants the morning of May 5 - when Jose Guerena was shot..]
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/article_087950ff-b798-5fc2-baba-37c7c7d9fd6b.html
Nikkie commented:
Woah cognitive dissonance. Turning into a poetry reading at the White House in here… poor innocent murderer, smuggler, drug dealer… he wuz framed by the cops, yeah that’s it.
Varmint Hunter commented:
I’ve been following this story daily and very closely, but I still don’t know most the facts about this incident. There has been so much spin in the media, and likely from Sheriff Dupnik, that I don’t know what to believe. I’m compelled to withhold judgement until verifiable facts come out, if they ever do. I will, however, express a couple of serious concerns about the whole mess:
1. Sheriff Dupnik is a man of NO character and this has likely trickled down to more than a few of his underlings. Dupnik will seek vindication for himself and his officers far more vigorously than he’ll seek justice for Jose. Dupnik will spin this case until he screws himself into the ground. He’ll blame any and everybody before he takes one picogram of responsibility for himself and the SWAT team. The possibility of real justice being served in this case is less than nil.
2. This militarizing of the police has got to stop. When I learn of new military weapons like the XM25, I become very concerned about such technology being passed on to SWAT teams across the country. Looking at today’s paramilitary police units across, I’ve concluded that the Posse Comitatus Act was flushed long ago.
3. Repeat #1. The citizens need to do something about Dupnik in a hurry.
Capitalist Infidel commented:
“If you need a AR-15 to protect yourself from your fellow man it is time to change your location and or the culture in which you live.”
Do you not see the irony in this statement?
archer52 commented:
I can say with certainty several things here as a veteran police detective, now retired.
1. SWAT Teams are made up of aggressive people. That said, they are also well trained, well versed in the law, and are as human as you and I. They have wives and kids and mortgages and dreams of sending their kids to college just like us. They don’t want to be killed by anyone, especially a drug dealer. Dying over dope is stupid.
2. The reason they knocked is that up until a few years ago they could go in without knocking, for safety reasons if the bad guy was thought to be armed, so he can’t get to his guns before they get to him. A judge ruled that the “no knock” warrants didn’t give time for people to react, thus increasing the risk of the wrong guy getting killed. It was a silly argument, as we see here, and it did increase the risk to the police. The rule now is to knock loudly and announce who you are, then wait five seconds or so to let the person get to the door or respond. Yes, silly and dangerous. SWAT’s goal is to enter and control everyone before the bad guys get their act together.
In this case, I saw the knock, I didn’t hear the loud announcement, but I did hear a siren. It was broad daylight, the officers were dressed in uniforms standard with their duties with big bright yellow markings. What did the family miss that made them think they were under attack by “unknown forces?”
A couple of years ago down here we had a entry where they knocked and announced, entered and the first officer in the doorway had a round shot right by his head by the drug dealer. They returned fire, he hit the ground and they took him in. He swore that even with the announcement, which are very loud and repeated, that he thought he was being ripped off.
3. Reading the other article you’ll note a relative spoke of how one of her relatives was recently killed in a home invasion. Hmmm… Down here we have that happen all the time when one group robs another of their stash of dope and cash. So, it seems our Marine’s extended family was involved in something. Which might lend to the multi-home raids scenario the police are talking about.
4. Just because the young man served doesn’t mean he had bad connections here. We all remember the articles where gangs would send their member into the service for training. They would send in the kids that they intentionally prevented from committing crimes so their records would be clean. Once in, the kids would learn tactics and weapons training then bring it back out to share with the gang. Here is one link- http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/07/28/eveningnews/main3107316.shtml
5. Bad things happen. Sometimes even when you try to get it right, it goes wrong. There are just too many variables to control. Did they announce? Did he hear and understand it? Did his time in the service make it difficult for him to react any other way but to arm himself in the confusion? (I had one young Marine come home and sleep in his bathroom with his feet propped up against the bathroom door because that was the way they learned to do it in Iraq.) Did the first guy in see the assault rifle, the fire causing everybody else coming through that “fatal funnel” of the doorway react the same?
6. What they did wrong. One- the warrant. Was it accurate and valid. Two- Did they announce. Obviously they did, the guy put his family in hiding, retrieved a weapon and confronted the police. But did they announce properly. Three- medical help. There is no reason not to let the EMTs in. Bulls**t on the “might be other people in the house crap. That is a lie. The SWAT teams are trained to shoot and move by the downed suspect and keep clearing the rooms for the exact reason they claimed. You have to make sure nobody else in the house is armed. My guess is the reason they didn’t let the EMTs in was there was no need. Dead is dead and if they hit him multiple times, they’d know. Once dead, he’s a crime scene and shouldn’t be touched. They should allow a check by the EMTs and then they are removed and the investigation is started.
Believe me, somebody is going to pay money here. Unless, the investigation reveals the guy, Marine or not, was a bad guy.
smarty commented:
Police need an oath to protect citizens ABOVE themselves. I have heard cops say their first duty is to protect themselves and other cops. This is why we are seeing what we are seeing, massive gangs of cops pointing guns at occupied houses and often unarmed people for BS reasons. Cops shouldn’t point until they are ready to shoot. Instead, they point, they treat people like dogs, and in the end of the day they are just police state bullies.
But then the real dirtbags who deserve to get shot on the street corners where they loiter and deal drugs are protected by the color of their skin and politics.
justasimplepatriot commented:
If it is proven that this individual was involved in the drug trade, the indictment of police behavior is unwarranted in my mind.
If it turns out that the intelligence was incorrect – that Guerena was an innocent homeowner, my outrage will be ignited.
Richard Aubrey commented:
These clowns didn’t even bring some dope to plant in case they got the wrong house again. Certainly an indication of lowered standards.
MCPO Airdale commented:
1. This wasn’t an attempt at an arrest, it was murder.
2. Police didn’t sound a siren, the bumbling cops set off the alarm in the van
3. Dumbnick, and his minions, will tell any lie to avoid the consequences of their actions.
retire05 commented:
For those of you who tend to say that the victim might have been a drug dealer; why do you say that? Because he had a Hispanic name? And if he was, so what?
A swat team is supposed to be trained to neutralize a severe situation. Unloading 71 slugs, 14 from each swat team member, is not neutralizing a situation, it is five cops reacting to a situation for which they were not well trained. Even if Guerena has fired a shot, the training those officers received should have been that he was to be “neutralized”, which means shot in a arm or leg that would have caused him to drop his weapon. Guerena was slaughtered. Pure and simple. The swat team didn’t “neutralize” Guerena, they made swiss cheese out of him. That is not their mission, to kill a suspect. Their mission, the mission of all police, is arrest.
The swat team overreacted to a man with a weapon. Their training should have taught them to announce themselves, ready to act if he DID fire a shot. Their training should have also taught them to put themselves in a position where he could not hit them, or there was less of a chance that they would be hit if Guerena fired.
If Guerena had been a drug dealer, if there had been evidence to bear that out, Dupnik, in total CYA mode, would have already released that information. Dupnik has no problem with CYA positions. This is a simple case of over reaction by an untrained swat team that Dupnik is responsible for and there should be a federal investigation into this murder.
If a police officer, or officers, bust into your home with weapons drawn, and do not identify themselves, you have a legal right to self-protection. Again, you could say that the police did what they thought right if they had shot Guerena once or twice to neutralize him, but come on, 71 times?
As much as I support our police officers, many who are killed by drug dealers (Rodney Johnson of Houston comes to mind) there is no way to justify this killing.
Joel commented:
WTF!!!
Joanne commented:
This young man was in his home sleeping with his wife and child, and these bastards shot him up – it is beyond horrific. I hate to even think about it.
akw commented:
People need to get a grip. Cops do make mistakes, but it has NOT been proven that THESE cops did. They went in with a SWAT team who punched its siren, knocked, announced and were confronted with a man pointing an AR-15 at them. Because he fell into a room, out of their sight, they waited until after a robot sent in showed that there wasn’t anyone else armed in the house before they allowed medics in. Just because this guy was an Iraqi vet doesn’t mean that he was a choir boy, and there IS evidence that he was involved with the drug trade.
Read THIS:
All four homes in raid tied to Guerena family
May 28, 2011
Records released by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department this week show that the four houses served with search warrants the morning of May 5 – when Jose Guerena was shot and killed by a SWAT team – are less than four miles apart and are all connected to the Guerena family.
And while initial reports were that doctors told the Guerena family that Jose had been shot 60 times, the Pima County medical examiner’s preliminary report says he was shot 22 times. In its sole briefing on the incident, the Sheriff’s Department said SWAT team members fired 71 rounds.
Aside from releasing more than 500 pages of documents about the incident, the department has remained mum since the May 10 briefing.
The raid netted drugs, large amounts of cash, bulletproof vests, about 30 cellphones and a stolen vehicle, records show, but no arrests have been made.
A department spokesman reiterated Friday that no comment on the case would be made until the investigation is complete.
Jose Guerena, 26, his older brother, Alejandro Guerena, and Jose Celaya – a relative by marriage – were listed as suspects in an investigation of drug trafficking and home invasions, records show. Warrants were served at homes owned by Jose Guerena; Bertha Guerena, Jose’s mother; and two homes owned by Jose and Graciela Celaya.
During a briefing before the warrants were served, records show, detectives told SWAT team members the two Guerena brothers and Celaya were associated with a double homicide related to a home invasion.
On March 29, 2010, Alejandro Guerena’s sister-in-law was shot to death during a home invasion. Cynthia Orozco, 34, and her husband, Manuel Francisco Orozco, 36, were killed at their rented home in the 7800 block of West Spiney Lizard Place, Star archives show. That house is down the street from one of the homes searched in the May 5 raid, records show. Cynthia Orozco was the sister of Alejandro Guerena’s wife, Pauline. No arrests have been made in those slayings.
evidence taken from 4 homes
Records show investigators took evidence from each of the four homes on the day of the raid:
• 9:33 a.m., Jose Guerena’s house, 7100 block of South Redwater Drive. SWAT team members announce themselves, then knocked open the front door. Shots are fired and Jose is killed. His wife, Vanessa, and their 4-year-old son were not shot.
No drugs or large amounts of cash were found inside Jose Guerena’s home, but detectives seized a Colt .38-caliber handgun, paperwork, tax returns including one with Jose and Graciela Celaya’s name, insurance papers, bank statements and a bank card, reports show. Another report said detectives found body armor in a hallway closet and a U.S. Border Patrol hat in the garage.
• 9:33 a.m., Jose and Graciela Celaya’s house, 6200 block of West Oklahoma Street. Most of the cash and drugs that detectives seized were found here, where Alejandro Guerena’s wife, Pauline, and child were found, along with Graciela Celaya, two unidentified women and another child.
Pauline Guerena let detectives inside the home, where they found a large shoebox under a bed containing about $94,000, a bag of marijuana in the stove, ammunition, an AK-47 rifle, other guns and bulletproof vests. Seven vehicles were found at the residence and drug-sniffing dogs alerted officers to the smell of narcotics on most of the vehicles.
While investigators were searching the home, Alejandro Guerena arrived, records show. He was detained but not arrested.
• 12:57 p.m., Bertha Guerena’s house, 5500 block of South Lemon Tree Drive. No one home. An officer wrote in his report that the front door of this house was “incredibly hardened” so SWAT officers had to break a glass door in the back to enter. He described the house as a “storage house” for furniture with no signs of occupancy. Dressers, couches and other furniture were wrapped in green plastic, according to records.
There were no drugs, cash or guns found in this house, according to reports, but an identification card for Pauline Celaya was found inside.
The listed owner for this property is Bertha Guerena.
• 1 p.m., Jose and Graciela Celaya’s house, 7400 block of West Illinois Street. No one at home. Before the raid, surveillance officers saw two people carrying two suitcases, a black bag and a large-screen TV next door. Officers found a stolen vehicle, according to the records, and several two-way radios, chargers and a cellphone in a dump truck on the property.
Also in the dump truck, an officer detected the “distinct odor of decaying flesh,” according to his report. He called a second officer to the area and they both agreed the smell was that of decaying flesh and was coming from the carpet in the trash, the report says. No body parts were found.
Three weeks before the raids, deputies were called to this address by a landscaper saying there were men with guns on the property. When deputies arrived, they found the doors to the home open and a puddle of blood on the floor, records show. Deputies did not find anyone inside, but they found traces of marijuana and a holster next to bloody footprints leading out of the home.
The registered owners of the house are Jose Celaya and Graciela Celaya.
No criminal record
Jose Guerena, a U.S. Marine for six years, did not have a criminal record in Pima County and his wife said he worked the graveyard shift for Asarco.
Alejandro Guerena, 27, had contact with local law enforcement about a dozen times and was found guilty of misconduct involving weapons in 2009 and possession, manufacture, delivery and advertisement of drug paraphernalia in 2006 and 2005, records show. He served some time in jail, but records are unclear as to when and for how long.
Jose Celaya was arrested by the Drug Enforcement Administration a couple of years ago, but the circumstances are unknown. Without his date of birth or middle name, the Star has been unable to check for other criminal records.
Examiner: 22 wounds
It was initially reported that Jose Guerena was shot 60 times by five SWAT officers who fired 71 rounds in less than 10 seconds. The family was told by a doctor that Jose was shot 60 times, they told the Star. Preliminary reports from the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office state that Guerena died from 22 gunshot wounds, Dr. Gregory Hess said Friday.
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/article_087950ff-b798-5fc2-baba-37c7c7d9fd6b.html
Muddywood commented:
The police knew where this marine worked. They knew when he was at work. They could’ve arrested him at work and then searched his house.
But they wanted to use their toys and their training.
They need to justify their existence.
This was just bad judgment all the way around.
JoeAstroturf commented:
Semper Fi Jose you served your country well . Don’t know where John McCain is now. I guess he’s trying to figure out how to explain that torture didn’t have anything to do with getting Osama. We have a few John Kerry types saying maybe you were a drug dealer, at least they haven’t called you a baby killer yet. Some don’t understand why you had a rifle. I guess they want you to depend on some of these $300,000 cops that are protecting us. Say hello to Chesty for us.
Ace commented:
All that report proves is that his relatives were involved in the drug business, not him.
Carol-Christian Soldier commented:
let’s not forget this veteran and West Point grad:
http://carolmsblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/west-point-grad-army-vet-shot-by-police.html
C-CS
Carol-Christian Soldier commented:
We have entered gun control mania-
because the youth are no longer taught the percepts of the Constitution -and the Bill of rights connected to same..
http://carolmsblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/bho-gun-control-under-radar.html
and our BEST are being singled out–at least that’s what it looks like to me..
C-CS
Scott Brooks commented:
Why doesn’t this story report at all on the evidence police had that Guerina was involved in a dangerous drug ring? Why doesn’t this story report that Guerina refused to comply with the order to open the door and come out, unarmed?
I’m highly suspicious of this story. It’s almost a worthless report. Shame on Gateway Pundit.
rumcrook commented:
All that proves is he came home from 4 or more years of service and found an assho1@ had married his sister.
KOW commented:
For about one year my mom and dad grew marijuana plants for my brother, who had a cousin sell the pot. I had nothing to do with it, lived in the house the plants were grown. Only thing I did was not call the cops.
According to some, this means I am a drug dealer.
I am not saying Jose had nothing to do with all the things the sheriff claims happened, but just because he has bad relatives does not mean he is bad. They found nothing in his home except a few legal items.
I am interested in where the mother is. Seems like she has been knocked off, maybe by Jose Celaya in his home. OK, that is just me watching too many murder reality shows on TV.
rumcrook commented:
I don’t see any time being given in that video for anyone in the home to comply with didly squat
No evidence at all was found in his home. Only the shady brother in law.
Now according to Scott that warrants the death penalty by cop
Girl Thursday commented:
I’ve been thinking about this story for days. Whether he was innocent, or a drug dealer, or disoriented from sleep, PTSD or his wife’s panic, the fact is that he was a man in his own home with his own gun. The idea that it’s just assumed you’ll be shot in your own home if the police enter and you have a gun (which is your constitutional right) is shocking to me.
It’s not that I don’t trust individual police officers. I think most are good people. However, law enforcement agencies are government agencies, and I don’t trust government agencies–no matter how many decent people might work for them.
zaire67 commented:
I don’t see anything wrong here.
Molon Lobe commented:
This could happen to you. America is a fascist police state. Does anyone believe this should be accepted in America?
zaire67 commented:
After reading this sites comments and posts concerning this subject. It’s quite obvious the real issue has nothing to do with the actual incident, but to malign the Sheriffs department because this site doesn’t agree with his political views. Objective opinions? Obviously not here.
retire05 commented:
OK, drugs, cash, etc found at one house, no arrests.
No drugs, cash, etc. found at Jose Guerana’s house, he’s shot to death. Oh, but they did find bank statements, ATM cards, tax returns, and a Border Patrol cap that anyone can buy. Yeah, that’s a reason to unload your clips into the guy.
So What commented:
The commentary on the weapon? Oh that’right per Napy& Zero the borders are safer than they ever have been.
rumcrook commented:
If that’s what’s obvious to you zare67 your shallow thinking moron
What a rational person unbiased towards the police or dupnick who is disgrace to the police.
Is an alarming trend towards the paramilitarization of the nations police forces and the danger that has manifested itself on the citizenry. This trend assumes we are the enemy. You can’t have a military force in action with out an enemy.
rumcrook commented:
This decorated marine couldn’t even have been arrested if it all had gone differently!
I base that on the facts. His brother in law wasn’t even arrested!
Conservative Ken commented:
Reminds me of Ruby Ridge. This is so sad
rocket1009 commented:
This is just another complete over-reaction from another inexperienced police department. Police Departments all over this country should be ashamed at the way they treat the general public and appalled at this senseless killing of a real American Hero. There will be no accountability or responsibility taken for this killing, I guarantee it.
POLICE: STOP THE SENSELESS OVERREACTION…STOP THE EXCESS FORCE…STOP AND THINK BEFORE YOU ACT and PLEASE, USE COMMON SENSE. YOU”RE FELLOW COUNTRYMEN AND WOMAN ARE NOT THE ENEMY. YOU HAVE A JOB TO PROTECT AND SERVE US. LOOK TO THE MILITARY FOR GUIDANCE, YOU NEED IT.
I am sick to my stomach, we should all be ashamed we let the police get so out of control. We don’t any more examples, we need a return to sanity.
Rock commented:
Jim, I could be wrong, but it seems a lot of the comments here are anything but Conservative type outrage. We have always enjoyed a blog that tried to be aware of a standard that was not Left Wing calling for blood, especially when all the facts have yet to be made clear. Much of the anti-cop rhetoric here is reminisce of the 60′s establishment haters of the Bill Ayers mentality (Lefties). It seems we have a few here who may be giving the Right a self inflected wound. Division of the American people is WTF’s dream, and we can ill afford to fall into the trap of aiding him and his Socialist scum in that endeavor. Or is this nothing more than an example of the new WTF strategy to counter Conservative sites?
Ragnar Danneskjold commented:
This is the guy they wish they could have shot!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbOp_9VfR6o Liberty is Dead!!! The time has come, the time is now, the line has been drawn in the sand! Kneel and join the necromancer zombies or FIGHT!!!
Rcl commented:
Our block in San Diego County with the help of my neighbor, a SDPD captain, arranged a SWAT invasion at a meth lab a couple houses up our small rural drive. They came with AR-15s and no sirens but believe me they announced themselves loudly. They didn’t enter until the sent flash/bang grenades through the busted in door and a couple windows. Not a shot was fired. Weapons were found but all occupants were rounded up healthy and driven off to the County Jail. The operation was SD County SOP, Standard Operating Procedure.
Regardless Sheriff Dipschitz’ politics the police here were out of control! Sorry if it offends anyone but these play soldiers aren’t qualified for an operation like this. I guarantee they knew they were busting in on a Marine and they were scared. Do you know how serious an offense it is in the service to “accidentally” discharge a weapon? That Canadian general in A-Stan was fired when he let loose a round. All this about what Jose said or did is bulls**t. The wobbly coward who mistakenly cut loose the first round set off all the other Wannabees and they slaughtered Guerena without cause. The commanders of this phony raid should wind up in prison.
Federale commented:
Uh, why was he pointing a gun at the police? The police sounded their sirens. Home invaders don’t sound sirens before they attack a home. There is more to this than they simple “Iraq veteran attacked.”
archer52 commented:
I read the full account posted above. I think those bashing SWAT need to stop. Obviously, their briefing was one of “if you hesitate, you might get smoked.” As the one poster misunderstands, we do not have any contract with society to get killed to make their lives easier or safer. Life is a risk. Deal with it. As a matter of fact, the Supreme Court has ruled we have no obligation to be killed on your behalf, as it should be.
That said, I can attest to many, MANY examples of police officers risking their lives to save people, even people who are intent on harming them. I’ve done it, my partner’s done it. Happens all the time.
Now back to this case. It does seems that our “hero” Marine had bad relatives to say the least, and was probably somehow involved in the multiple home invasion, robbery deaths that his relative is also involved in. Like I said, it wouldn’t be the first time.
As for nobody getting arrested. That is what search warrants and investigations and evidence gathering is all about. I’ve gotten evidence to arrest people in a search warrant but didn’t act for months until the rest of the case came together. My ex-partner dealt with a group of Cuban thieves stealing gas and vehicles and his investigation lasted eighteen months before we swept in and rounded them all up. He got 19 out of the 22 he was looking for in one morning. Often, we have to review the evidence with the prosecutors to see if they are comfortable going forth. Life isn’t like Law and Order. You make a mistake in real life and a murderer could go free. They don’t explode on the stand and confess in front of the jury like on TV.
As for shooting the guy a bunch of times. It happens. Retired in 05′s comments makes me wonder what he retired from, because it wasn’t police work. We are trained to shoot center mass until the threat is neutralized. Why? Simple physiological makeup of the human body. You would be surprised how many “dead” bad guys get off another twenty seconds of shooting before collapsing from blood loss. There was case where one guy got shot through the heart during a traffic stop but managed to keep firing another fifteen seconds, and HIT a police officer, before collapsing. There are only two ways to guarantee no return fire- a head shot (brain actually) or a spinal shot above the chest. Both will incapacitate the target. Outside of that, people just don’t die easy. Especially military trained people who know that getting shot does not mean dying.
If the guy fell into a room out of sight, the officers could have either entered the room or sealed it off, cleared the rest of the house and waited for, in this case a robot, to clear. Frankly, I challenge any of you on this blog to volunteer to be the first guy to stick his head into the room to see if the guy is dead. I think that happened just a couple of week ago out west when three police officers were looking for a fugitive. The guy was in a trailer, and the cop peeked in and got it in the noggin.
We’ll see what happened here in time. I’ll would hope those who thought this was a execution will be willing to say sorry if it turns out the guy was in fact a bad guy. Imagine if the AR15 he held had matching rounds found in the home of a murdered family. What then?
tex commented:
Just because you are a veteran doesn’t mean you cannot be a violent criminal. Oh, that’s right if you are a u.s. veteran in today’s world everything should be free and they should get to do whatever they want wherever they want whenever they want without any consequences. God Bless American!