Former Minuteman Member Arrested for Home Invasion and Murder

June 24, 2009 by Suzanne Conlon

Twelve days following a home invasion in Arivaca, Arizona, police have arrested three Arizona residents on charges of first-degree murder, burglary, and aggravated assault. Police identified the suspects as Shawna Forde, 41, Jason Eugene Bush, 34, and Albert Robert Gaxiola, 42. Two suspects have ties to anti-immigration groups.

When they barged into Raul Flores’ house with guns drawn in the middle of the night, the suspects wore uniforms and identified themselves as U.S. Marshals looking for an escaped prisoner. They claimed the house was surrounded. But the imposters had targeted Flores because they suspected he was a drug trafficker and they wanted to rob and kill him.

Flores asked one of the men why his handgun was taped and the man shot and killed Flores. "Someone just came in and shot my daughter and husband," Flores' wife frantically told 911. She said that she was shot and left for dead with her husband, Raul Flores, 29, and daughter Brisenia, 9.

While the woman was talking to the 911 operator, the intruders returned to the house. "They are coming back in! They are coming back in!" the caller screamed.  The woman shot one of the intruders with her husband’s handgun.  On the 911 recording, he can be heard groaning after being hit. The attackers then fled.

Forde was a former member of the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps, a citizen group whose mission is to secure the U.S. border. Critics of the organization say the groups dangerously blur the lines between law enforcement and vigilantism.

Forde was a well known immigration critic. She ran a failed campaign for City Council in her hometown of Everett, Washington and was a visible participant in Minutemen Washington meetings and rallies. But her ideas were too extreme for the Minutemen and they kicked her out in 2007.

Forde formed her own organization called the Minutemen American Defense. Member Chuck Stonex noticed that Forde’s group was well funded for such a fringe organization. "She always had a lot of cash," he said. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said Forde was looking for cash to finance her organization when she broke into the Flores home.  Flores was an alleged drug dealer.

Police believe it was Forde's plan, but Bush committed the murders. After his arrest, Bush was charged with the fatal stabbing of a homeless man in Washington state in 1997.  Police also noted that Bush has long-standing ties to Aryan nations groups.