The next time someone accuses me of being too tough on illegal immigrants I'm going to refer them to Martha Angulo, the mother of 17-year-old Rene Angulo, who was shot to death in Washoe Valley on Mother's Day eve by "undocumented worker" Steven Contreras (aka Victor Rodriguez), 24, an admitted gang-banger and suspected drug trafficker.
Mrs. Angulo, who has lived in Carson City for many years, might have an opinion about leniency for criminal illegals in the Nevada court system. That's because Contreras was convicted of being an accessory to murder in 2005 in a local gang-related shooting. He was deported but immediately violated probation by sneaking back into the United States.
Contreras is in the Washoe County Jail on charges of murdering Angulo and wounding good Samaritan Wayne Nash, 51, of Carson City, in a bizarre incident on Highway 395 in Washoe Valley last month. According to police, Angulo was driving to Reno but at some point Contreras came into the car. Contreras then shot the local teenager to death and wounded Nash, who had stopped to assist Angulo. Contreras fled in Angulo's vehicle but was apprehended on Old 395 shortly thereafter, naked and hiding along the roadside.
In an interview with Nevada Appeal police reporter F.T. Norton, Mrs. Angulo said Rene was a "good kid, a good son (and) a good brother. My son wasn't in trouble. I should know. I'm his mother." She and other family members insist that Rene had no ties to local gangs.
Contreras claimed that he blacked out just before firing a bullet into Angulo's head, and told investigators that earlier the same day he had "shot at a gorilla" in his Carson City hotel room. Good luck with that story. Police believe that Contreras may be involved with another suspected drug trafficker/illegal immigrant, Jaime Lopez, 20, who led Carson City sheriff's deputies on a high-speed chase three days after the Angulo murder. Lopez is currently jailed here on five felony charges.
The point of this column is to remind illegal immigration advocates that they're making a mistake when they claim that all illegals are honest, hard-working people who merely seek to improve their lives. Unfortunately, a small minority of them are dangerous criminals who should be captured and deported forthwith. Also, local judges should stop giving probation to defendants who use weapons to commit crimes.
Meanwhile, the Obama administration is waiting for the right moment to revive so-called "comprehensive immigration reform," which would grant conditional amnesty to millions of illegals. Obama is biding his time on this controversial issue while reiterating his support for immigration reform. We'll be watching.
• Guy W. Farmer, of Carson City, lived and worked in Latin America for more than 20 years.