BRISENIA FLORES - 9 yo (2009) - Flores (NW of Phoenix) AZ

'Please don't shoot me:' Girl, nine, begged for her life before she and her father were shot dead by 'anti-immigrant vigilantes'
Last updated at 9:38 PM on 26th January 2011

Victim: Brisenia Flores was shot dead alongside her father in her home in Flores, Arizona

A nine-year-old girl begged for her life before being shot dead along with her father by an anti-immigrant
vigilante group, a court heard.
Brisenia Flores was gunned down at point-blank range in her own home in Flores,
Arizona, as her terrified mother Gina Gonzalez, who had also been hit,
played dead on the floor.
She sobbed as the court was told how she had heard Brisenia's desperate pleas as her killer stood over her.
'I can hear it happening,' Mrs Flores told the court describing how her
daughter said: 'Why did you shoot my dad? Why did you shoot my mum?'
'I can hear her telling him to "please don't shoot me."'The prosecution alleges that the
child and her father Raul Flores Jr were murdered in May 30, 2009 by a
group of vigilantes set up to tackle Mexican immigrants.The
shootings took place 200 miles from Tucson, the scene of the gun
massacre earlier this month in which another nine-year-old girl died.
Shawna Forde, the head of the Minutemen American Defence group, is on trial accused of two charges of first degree murder.
She is allegedly orchestrated the attack on the Flores family with two male accomplices, due to face face court in.March.

Police claim that Forde believed Mr Flores was a drug trafficker and would have cash and goods in the house
which they could use to fund their patrols.
She reportedly led the raid and gave instructions to the male accomplices.



On trial: Shawna Forde (centre) is accused of murdering Brisenia Flores, nine, and her father Raul Flores Jr

Mrs Gonzalez told the court that her husband woke her up just before 1am on May 30 and said that the police were at the door.
The couple went to the front room - where Brisenia had spent the night on
the sofa to be near her new dog - and spotted two people outside.
Both were in camouflage. Mrs Gonzalez said one was a heavy-set woman while
the other was a man whose face was blackened with greasepaint. He was
armed with a rifle and pistol.
The mother-of-one told the court the pair had demanded to be let in, claiming the family were harbouring a fugitive.
They then burst into the house. The man told Mr Flores: 'Don't take this personal, but this bullet has your name on it.'



Accused: Shawna Forde is one of three people
charged with two counts of first-degree murder over the shooting of
Brisenia Flores and her father

He then opened fire, hitting Mrs Gonzalez in the shoulder and leg.
Her husband was hit multiple times before the gunman turned to her daughter.
She described hearing the murderer reload his weapon as he ignored Brisenia's pleas for mercy and then open fire.
The gunman and his accomplice left but as Mrs Gonzalez called 911, she heard him returning.
Desperately wounded, she dragged herself through the house to find her husband's
gun and exchanged fire with her assailant, who police say is Jason Bush.
He was injured and fled the scene.
Forde was arrested shortly after the shooting. She had Mrs Gonzalez's wedding ring and other jewellery, according to police.
Investigators said that she was originally a member of the anti-immigrant Minuteman
Project but left to form a more extreme breakaway group.
Members claim that it is their civil duty to protect the Mexican border with weapons as the authorities are unable to do so.
Forde allegedly funded her by group by robbing the houses of suspected drug
dealers. When she reportedly proposed one such raid to two potential
accomplices, they phoned the FBI - who did nothing because they believed
the suggestion was too ludicrous to be true.
Prosecutor Kellie Johnson said: 'Not only will the state prove to you that Shawna
Forde was in that house that night, barking orders and telling people
what to do, the state will prove that Shawna Forde organised and planned
this offence.'
Forde's lawyer Eric Larsen told the court that she was not at the house and that much of the evidence was circumstantial
Forde denies murder. The trial continues. If convicted, she faces the death penalty.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1350721/Girl-9-father-shot-dead-anti-immigrant-vigilantes-begged-life.html#ixzz1CBHMTrvv

State's closing arguments paint Forde as mastermind


Shawna Forde thought so highly of herself she believed she could create a new world, decide who was a drug dealer and who wasn't and who should live and die, prosecutor Rick Unklesbay told jurors Thursday.
The truth, however, he said, is, "What Shawna Forde is is a common thief and a murderer."
Unklesbay spent approximately 90 minutes Thursday going over the evidence he says proves Forde, 43, was the mastermind behind a May 30, 2009, Arivaca home invasion that left Raul Junior Flores, 29, and his 9-year-old-daughter, Brisenia, dead of multiple gunshot wounds.
Two other suspects in the case, Jason Bush and Albert Gaxiola, are scheduled to go to trial this spring.
The prosecutor reminded jurors that at least four witnesses testified Forde bragged about her plan to fund her Minutemen American Defense organization by robbing drug-cartel associates during home invasions.
Among those witnesses were her sister, two FBI informants and Oin Oakstar, an Arivaca drug smuggler.
Flores and Brisenia died because of Forde's greed, Unklesbay said.
Forde may not have pulled the trigger, "But make no mistake about it, she's the one who planned the event, recruited the people to do it and she went in there with them," Unklesbay said.
It's been suggested Forde is nothing but a braggart filled with hot air, Unklesbay said. But she told an FBI informant people are always underestimating her.
The prosecutor urged jurors to listen to two taped conversations between Forde and the informant, Ron Wedow.
Just days after the brutal slayings, Unklesbay said Forde talked about being the only one in the Minutemen movement willing to "take it to the next level," and she invites Wedow to join in, saying, "Welcome to the jungle, baby."
She tells Wedow they've already done some operations and says with "glee and sheer joy" that they have more targets, Unklesbay said.
Unklesbay also urged the jurors to ignore the defense's take on the testimony of Flores' wife, Gina Gonzalez.
"My God! Her 9-year-old daughter was slaughtered in front of her. I'm sure she wanted to say" it was definitely Forde, but she said only that Forde resembled the woman, Unklesbay said.
Defense attorney Eric Larsen told jurors they can't convict Forde unless they accept that every theory presented by the state is the only reasonable theory.
Wedow called Forde with the sole purpose of getting Forde to confess to the slayings on tape, but instead she told him home invasions weren't "up her alley," Larsen said.
The defense attorney told jurors to ask themselves if it's possible Gaxiola's girlfriend, Gina Moraga, was the woman home invader.
Larsen argued Moraga would fit Gonzalez's description of the woman if she donned a tactical vest and her feet would also fit in bloody hiking boots found at Gaxiola's house, Larsen said.
Moreover, Oakstar testified he and Gaxiola planned to kill Flores before he could kill them for stealing marijuana from him, Larsen said. Moraga helped them.
"Who's got motive to go in and make themselves safe? Albert Gaxiola, Oin Oakstar and Gina Moraga," Larsen said.
Larsen also reminded jurors about a text he believes was sent and signed by Moraga after the slayings. It said "Have next target intel Will need 4 man team details when we meet Gina."
"Tell me Gina Moraga is not a viable suspect," Larsen said. "She's putting together another team. She's putting together another hit."
In addition to two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder, Forde is facing burglary, aggravated-assault and robbery charges.
If convicted, Forde could face the death penalty.
The jurors will begin deliberations at 10 a.m. today.
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/article_cdaac051-7c00-55d3-9ffe-d3a0ec61eae7.html

Shawna Forde, the vigilante anti-immigration crusader affiliated with
the Minutemen group, was found guilty today of two counts of first
degree murder in the 2009 killing of Raul Flores and his nine-year-old
daughter, Brisenia Flores, the Arizona Daily Star is reporting.
Forde was also convicted of attempted first-degree murder in the
shooting of Gina Gonzalez, Brisenia's mother, in addition to aggravated
assault and robbery counts. The jury will now decide whether Forde will
face the death penalty.
Forde, a controversial (and disputed) member
of the Minutemen, hoped to rob the Flores family of drug money in order
to fund her border patrol operation, according to the prosecution. When
she failed to find the cash, Forde and her two associates shot all
three residents of the home, including the nine-year-old girl, who
allegedly pleaded, "Please don't shoot me!"

The brutal murders gained some national media coverage, albeit slowly,
though many worked to bring attention to the crime, which some believe
can be tied directly to increasingly violent anti-immigrant sentiment in
the United States.

The Latino issues awareness group Presente.org including the following explanation in a press release about the importance of the verdict:

Though we received a verdict that condemned these
atrocious murders, we also recognize that the Brisenia Flores' case is
not the isolated incident that some media reports make it out to be.
Rather, it has galvanized the attention of the entire Latino community
across the country as it reflects the anti-immigrant, anti-Latino hatred
organized by extremist groups. Latinos - the fastest-growing and
largest ethnic minority group in the U.S. - understand and experience
the phenomenon of hatred that has rapidly expanded in the nation. In
fact, Latinos are closely watching media outlets that provide a platform
for hatred promoted by extremist groups like MAD and the Federation
for American Immigration Reform - a group Forde represented on a PBS
show, for instance. Latinos are closely watching those media outlets
that irresponsibly allow hateful groups attack to Latinos and
immigrants, fanning the flames of fear and violence in our communities.

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/02/brisenia_flores_verdict.php

Detective: Bush said fear drove him to kill

Jason Bush told a Pima County sheriff's homicide detective that he closed his eyes and shot a 9-year-old girl because he felt threatened by two of his partners in crime.
Bush also said he shot Brisenia Flores from three feet away, Detective Juan Carlos Navarro testified Wednesday during Bush's capital murder trial.
Bush, a Meadview resident, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the May 30, 2009, deaths of Raul Junior Flores, 29, and Brisenia. He is also charged with attempted murder in the shooting of Flores' wife, Gina Gonzalez, 32.
The state rested after Navarro's testimony. The defense rested as well, without calling any witnesses.
Closing arguments are scheduled for this morning in the trial's guilt-and-innocence phase.
If Bush, 36, is convicted, the state will ask jurors to decide if the circumstances warrant consideration of the death penalty. If they say yes, defense attorneys Richard Parrish and Chris Kimminau have said they intend to present evidence about Bush's childhood and mental health they hope will persuade jurors to spare his life.
Bush's statement to police contradicts earlier testimony from Dr. David Winston, the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsies on the victims.
Winston testified whoever killed Brisenia pressed the gun against the girl's cheek and fired. He also shot her in the nose from close range.
Gonzalez told jurors last week a tall gunman with black face paint shot Flores and herself after entering their house claiming to be a law enforcement officer.
As she pretended to be dead, the gunman assured her sobbing daughter he wasn't going to hurt her but then reloaded and shot her twice in the face at point-blank range, Gonzalez said.
Instead of playing Bush's entire confession for the jurors, Deputy Pima County Attorney Kellie Johnson asked Navarro specific questions about what was said.
Navarro testified Bush initially said he stayed outside when Minutemen American Defense founder Shawna Forde and Albert Gaxiola went to the Flores home to rob them of drugs, weapons and money. He said Gonzalez shot him in the leg after he went to the doorway following some gunshots.
Later, Bush admitted he shot Flores and Gonzales, Navarro said.
Bush said that after he shot the couple, Brisenia asked him if her mommy was dead, and he told her 'No,' Navarro told the jurors. When he turned around, Bush saw Forde and Gaxiola pointing guns at him and, because he felt threatened, he shot Brisenia, too.
The detective testified that Bush said Forde ordered him to finish Gonzalez off when she went back into the house to retrieve a .357-caliber handgun she'd misplaced and discovered Gonzalez was still alive.
Bush said Gonzalez shot him twice when he went back in, once in the leg and once in the torso, Navarro said. The bullet to the torso was deflected.
Bush told him that after everyone left the house for the last time, Gaxiola fired a shotgun from the doorway into the living room.
Jurors heard testimony that while the Floreses were killed with a .45-caliber handgun, someone had fired a shotgun into the living room and it ruined a refrigerator on the other side of a wall.
Detectives also testified a .357-caliber handgun was found near a fence on the Flores property.
Jurors also learned Wednesday that DNA from both Bush and Gaxiola was found on various parts of a shotgun found at Gaxiola's house. The .45-caliber handgun has never been found; Bush told Navarro that Gaxiola got rid of it.
Jurors also heard that Bush's DNA was found on bloody boots at Gaxiola's house, on the getaway van and in pools of blood on the Flores property.
Forde was convicted and sentenced to death last month. Gaxiola is scheduled to go to trial June 1.
Pima County Superior Court Judge John Leonardo is presiding over the case.

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/article_115434bd-b442-5bdc-a389-2a0988e05d3d.html

Bush guilty in Arivaca double slaying


A Pima County jury convicted Jason Bush Friday in the slaying of a 9-year-old girl and her father and deemed him eligible for the death penalty. Next week, his attorneys will begin to pre-sent evidence they hope will persuade the jurors to spare his life.
The jurors agreed with prosecutors there are three reasons why they should consider the death penalty for Bush: Brisenia Flores' age; he was convicted of killing another person, her father, Raul Junior Flores; and he committed other serious crimes the same night.
Defense attorneys Richard Parrish and Chris Kimminau said that when the sentencing hearing begins Thursday they intend to call about half a dozen witnesses to present mitigating evidence. That includes testimony from his biological father, foster parents, two former lovers and two doctors, one of whom ran tests on Bush's brain.
Bush was placed in a mental institution at age 11 by his father, Parrish said.
Bush was part of Minutemen American Defense founder Shawna Forde's plan to fund her border protection group by robbing and killing people she suspected were drug smugglers, according to prosecutors.
On May 30, 2009, Forde and Bush pretended to be U.S. Border Patrol agents to gain entry into the Floreses' Arivaca home and, once inside, Bush shot Raul Flores, 29, and Flores' wife, Gina Gonzalez.
Gonzalez, 32, testified that as she pretended to be dead on the floor, Bush reassured the couple's youngest daughter she would be fine, but then he shot her twice.
Forde, Albert Gaxiola and others ransacked the home and left, but Forde came back to retrieve a gun they'd left behind.
Gonzalez told jurors that when Forde ran to tell Bush to "finish her off," she armed herself and was able to fend Bush off.
Bush's blood was found in the Floreses' yard, his DNA was found on the getaway van and various other items, and he confessed to detectives.
Bush's attorneys gave neither opening statements nor closing arguments. Nor did they cross-examine many witnesses.
Although they said nothing to the jury, they conceded Bush's guilt to prosecutors and Pima County Superior Judge John Leonardo at the start of the trial.
The defense attorneys said they wanted to preserve their credibility with the jury for the mitigation phase of the trial.
At the time of Bush's arrest, authorities discovered Bush had convinced Forde, his girlfriend and others he was a highly decorated master sergeant in the U.S. Army who had served in Afghani-stan, Iraq and other locales. Detectives found fake commendations and other Department of Defense documents in his belongings.
Bush has never served in the military.
It took jurors about four hours to convict Bush and 15 minutes to decide he was eligible for the death penalty.
Forde was convicted after seven hours of deliberations and sentenced to death last month. Gaxiola's trial is scheduled for June 1.

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/article_65d8182a-8146-52c9-bc60-e36ce1a893f0.html

Testimony in Arivaca case focuses on Lawless

June 9, 2011
A former member of the Minutemen American Defense border security group founded by convicted murderer Shawna Forde testified Thursday that he observed, on the night of May 30, 2009, Forde hand a set of keys and a scrap of paper containing a phone number to Laine Lawless, an ardent supporter of Forde and the founder of the Border Guardians.
It was that set of keys that Lawless reportedly took to Tucson and handed to a person who may have been Albert Robert Gaxiola.
Gaxiola, 43, faces two counts of first-degree murder in Pima County Superior Court in connection with the May 30, 2009, deaths of Raul "Junior" Flores and his daughter, Brisenia, 9, at their home in Arivaca. Additional charges include: the attempted first-degree murder of Gina Marie Gonzalez; one count of burglary in the first-degree; one count of aggravated assault, serious physical injury; one count of aggravated assault, deadly weapon/dangerous instrument; one count of armed robbery; and one count of aggravated armed robbery.
Both Forde and co-defendant Jason Eugene Bush have been tried and convicted on the same charges. Forde received two death sentences plus 65 years in the Arizona Department of Corrections and Bush received two death sentences and 78 years in prison. If convicted, Gaxiola faces the same potential penalties as his co-defendants.
Key exchange
New Mexico resident Chuck Stonex testified that he witnessed the exchange of a set of keys at Gaxiola's residence in Arivaca between Forde and Lawless.
"I saw Shawna give Laine Lawless a set of keys," he said. "With the keys, also, Laine Lawless was also given a phone number to call to give the keys to in Tucson."
Those keys operated an orange Honda Element owned by Forde. Stonex had gone to the Gaxiola residence to provide first aide to Jason Bush, who had suffered a wound to his leg.
The involvement by Lawless in the case came to light in greater detail during the argument of a motion filed by Lawless requesting the subpoena requiring her testimony in the Gaxiola trial be quashed.
Motion to quash
During argument of the motion on June 1, Deputy County Attorney Rick Unklesbay provided Judge Richard S. Fields with background regarding the involvement by Lawless in the deadly home invasion that took place shortly before 1 a.m. on May 30, 2009.
"Later that same day on May 30th, about 8 o'clock in the evening, Ms. Lawless went to Arivaca with another gentleman by the name of Chuck Stonex," he said. "Mr. Stonex has testified on the events that he and Ms. Lawless were involved in Arivaca during the evening hours on May 30th."
Unklesbay said, during the June hearing, that Lawless has been interviewed by detectives and the lawyers involved in the case. "Ms. Lawless has admittted to law enforcement that she came into contact with Shawna Forde, a co-defendant in this case at a home that belonged to current defendant Albert Gaxiola," he said. "Mr. Gaxiola was not present at that time according to Ms. Lawless and Mr. Stonex."
Unklesbay said that Lawless did a favor for Forde on the evening of May 30, 2009.
"Ms. Lawless admits that Shawna Forde gave her a set of car keys and asked her to deliver them to Tucson," he said. "Our evidence will show that Mr. Gaxiola was in Tucson at the time and that Ms. Lawless gave a statement to detectives that she delivered those keys to a person by the name of Albert. Our defendant in this case is Albert Gaxiola. Ms. Lawless has subsequently indicated that the Albert she gave the keys to was not Albert Gaxiola."
Whether the person Lawless delivered the car keys to in Tucson was Gaxiola, Unklesbay told Fields that there are text messages showing he had the keys.
"Mr. Gaxiola was involved in some text messaging in which he indicated to Shawna Forde that he had received the car keys and would be driving Ms. Forde's vehicle down to Arivaca," he said.
The motion requesting that the subpoena be quashed was denied. Lawless, subsequently, filed a motion requesting witness immunity in the case. That motion has not been heard.
Minutemen
During the remainder of his testimony, Stonex was questioned regarding his involvement with Forde and the Minutemen.
"My first trip to Arizona was in October 2008," he said. "There was a Minuteman operation that was going on in the Three Points area that was directed by Shawna Forde and me and a friend mine were invited to come over and participate. It's kind of like neighborhood watch. The Border Patrol can't be everywhere."
Stonex testified that he and Forde spoken on the phone and exchanged emails following that operation. Stonex was in Arizona to attend a barbeque on May 30 at the home of Glenn Spencer in Hereford.
"She was supposed to be at that barbecue," he said. "She didn't show up."
Stonex received a call from Forde around 8 a.m. on the morning of May 30 requesting that he obtain medical supplies and to come to Arivaca.
"She called me and asked if she had brought a medical kit with me," he testified.
Lawless
While attending the barbecue, Stonex met Laine Lawless for the first time.
"Prior to the barbeque Shawna had told me a lady was going to some journaling and write a book about her and if this woman was to call that it was okay for me to talk to her," he said.
Stonex mentioned to Lawless during a discussion at the barbecue that he was leaving to see Forde in Arivaca and invited her to accompany him. They drove in separate vehicles as far as Arivaca Junction where Lawless left her vehicle and joined Stonex in his vehicle for the ride to Arivaca. Forde met them at the Arivaca Mercantile in a teal van and led them to Gaxiola's home.
During cross-examination defense counsel Jack L. Lansdale asked Stonex about the use of camouflage clothing during a Minuteman operation at Three Points.
"It's not exactly a church environment, a church neighborhood out there," he said.
'Large and in charge'
Stonex said one of the reasons he had come to Three Points for the operation in 2008 was that he was curious about an operation being run by a female.
"She was large and in charge," he said.
Lansdale asked Stonex, a former sergeant in the U.S. Army, about Bush's nickname of Gunny. "In the Marine Corp. that's a gunnery sergeant, an E-7 Marine Corp. rank. It didn't mean nothing to me," he said. "He had some interesting stories."
Lansdale took an opportunity to ask Stonex about a weapon known as an AK-47. "It's a military weapon that is popular with all of the Communist nations. You can't hurt one, but it's not accurate worth a darn," he suggested.
"If I said to you I'm bringing some of my guns and you said what are you bringing and I said an AK. Would that mean something to you?" Lansdale asked. "That means you have any money to buy a real gun."

http://www.gvnews.com/sahuarita_sun/news/article_68cd73d4-9307-11e0-a468-001cc4c03286.html