A triple murder suspect, it turns out, had been deported six times prior to the murders that took place on a rural Oregon blueberry farm. Bonifacio Oseguera-Gonzalez, 29, a Mexican national, has no significant prior criminal convictions, but the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, ICE, has eyes on him. In a statement to the Associated Press on Friday, they’ve requested Oregon authorities to turn him over to them if he’s released from custody. The Mexican national has been deported a total of six times between 2003 and 2013, they said. The suspect pleaded not guilty after having admitted to authorities that he had shot four people on the farm that day. He’s been charged with three counts of aggravated murder and one count of attempted murder with a firearm in the shooting deaths.
Since ICE released the information regarding the six times he was deported, his attorney, Deborah Burdzik has not made any type of comment regarding his immigration status , according to a report from Fox News . Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, did make a statement, however. He tweeted on the case Friday, saying that a suspect who’d already been deported six times “should never have been here.”
These crimes won’t be happening if I’m elected POTUS. Killer should have never been here. #AmericaFirst https://t.co/XDGKaj0ico
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 1, 2016
One of the major platforms of Donald Trump’s campaign has been the statements of his commitment to making America safe again, which will be accomplished, he says, by tightening the borders against illegal immigration. The Hill reported that Trump has repeatedly cited cases of crimes committed by illegal immigrants, doubling down on previous statements and calling for “strong borders.”
“As has been stated continuously in the press, people are pouring across our borders unabated. Public reports routinely state great amounts of crime are being committed by illegal immigrants. This must be stopped and it must be stopped now.”
“Bonifacio Oseguera-Gonzalez,” https://t.co/DDZQi1tKrC via @MailOnline
— Terry Terten (@TerryTerten) July 3, 2016
Two men who lived at the blueberry farm in rural northwest Oregon died at the scene after the shooting on Monday. A third victim was pronounced dead at a local hospital. She was the girlfriend of another resident who wasn’t home at the time of the murders. Another man was seriously injured, but has survived and has been able to speak with detectives.
The Oregon State Police arrested the suspect a few hours later on Interstate 84 in the Columbia River Gorge, approximately 100 miles from the murder scene. According to a probable cause statement, Oseguera-Gonzalez admitted to police in an interview that he had shot four people. Later, however, in the Marion County Superior Court, he pleaded not guilty to the three counts of aggravated murder and the one count of attempted murder.
Authorities have said very little regarding the motive in the case or the relationship between the suspect and the victims, says a report from KOIN 6 News . Court records indicate that the suspect was not a current resident at the farm, but was known to frequent the location. The victims have been identified as Ruben Rigoberto-Reyes, 60, Edmundo Amaro-Bajonero, 26, and Katie Gildersleeve, 30, of Logsden.
Initial reports came forth saying the murders took place on a farm with a legal marijuana grow, but it was later clarified, says The Statesman Journal, that the marijuana crops were on a separate, private property. The growing operation is legal and not related in any way to the murders, the report goes on to say. Anthony Reyes, the 22-year-old son of one of the victims, stressed that the murder of his father had nothing to do with marijuana. He told the court, via a translator, that “it wasn’t about drugs.” Reyes and a friend had left the farm about an hour prior to the murders, and he said he didn’t know the motive behind them.
Once deputies with Clackamas County Sheriff’s office and Woodburn Police had found the dead and wounded victims at the farm, they struck out in search for the suspect with the assistance of the Oregon State Police. They searched rivers, stables, and surrounding farmland for the suspect. The sheriff’s office released a description of the suspect and his vehicle to cooperating law enforcement and initiated a search on foot, with K-9 units, in vehicles and even an airplane from the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Department. Deputies and police officers from Hood County saw his vehicle and pulled him over, then took him into custody without incident. The judge denied bail and scheduled his next court appearance for July 12 at 8:30 a.m.
The murders left an Oregon community in shock and wondering how a suspect who had previously been deported six times could have remained and committed the triple murders.
[Photo by Michael Courtney/Shutterstock Images]
