New Details Emerge In José Guerena Case

So by now we’re all familiar with the story of the twice-Iraq deployed Marine José Guerena who was killed after a Pima County SWAT unit in Arizona shot him in his own home while executing a search warrant. No drugs were found, he was denied care, and died while his wife pleaded for medical care to save his life. Some more details have become available. The Associated Press reported:

The Pima County, Ariz., sheriff says a raid at a former Marine’s Tucson-area home stemmed from a 20-month drug and homicide investigation.

Sheriff Clarence Dupnik told an Arizona Daily Star editorial meeting that details into Jose Guerena’s activities will not be released because it could place an informant at risk.

Also, the sheriff’s department now says Guerena may have been linked to a home invasion burglary crew because, “authorities found rifles, hand guns, body armor and a portion of a law enforcement uniform.”  And then there’s this from The Arizona Daily Star:

Two weeks after the shooting, officers were alerted to a storage room at Ajo Kinney Super Storage, 5175 W. Ajo Highway, rented to Jose Guerena’s mother, Bertha, Dupnik said.

Inside the locker, officers found a large number of financial documents and ledgers that “make it clear to us that this is drug money and money owed to a number of individuals,” Pima County sheriff’s Bureau Chief Rick Kastigar said via telephone during Dupnik’s visit to the Star…

Three other homes were searched May 5 as part of the investigation: one home owned by Jose Guerena’s mother, Bertha, and two homes owned by Jose Celaya, a listed suspect in the drug and homicide investigation.

Jose Guerena’s older brother, Alejandro Guerena, is also listed as a suspect, documents show.

Turns out that, although SWAT members fired 71 times, they only hit Guerena 22. But whatever Guerena may or may not have done, he was still innocent until proven guilty. There remain questions, as far as I’m concerned. If these guys are so highly trained, why did more than half of their bullets miss the mark? Why did they deny him medical care as he lay there, obviously immobilized from their bullets? We’ve had an interesting discussing in our comments as to whether, or not, this case involved racial profiling. You already know what I think, what are your thoughts?

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD