Rogers, a family friend, was now a private attorney and had also been assigned a member of the group. He did not respond to a letter sent to him in prison requesting an interview. The great size of the load, the property of the Jurez Cartel, raised unsettling questions about what might have occurred earlier. e cartel war ricocheted from one canyon to the next, Urique became one of the last towns to be engulfed by intense violence. With him were five cousins and a nephew, each shouldering a similar load. The thick old-growth trees had been chopped down long ago and sent to the sawmills of nearby Bahuichivo. The white stucco walls were empty; his diplomas were stored at his fiances house. (Courtesy of Presidio County Sheriff's Office) By Brbara Anguiano The course turned toward Cerocahui on a footpath built by drug traffickers to carry out their crops. February 10, 1946 - March 16, 2019 Tribute Wall Obituary & Events Share a memory Send Flowers Obituary Robert "Bob" Chambers, 73, of Elma, Iowa passed away Saturday, March 16, 2019 at home surrounded by his loving family. Silvino remembered the women in Huisuchi who used to weave baskets out of the pine needles. It was big news, from the Big Bend Sentinel (The Marfa Coke Bust, it blared) all the way to the New York Times. He knew what an absence like that could do to a family. Phyllis was an immigrant who was . Rogers also came from a ranching family, and she found her calling with the federal defenders. Learn more about your ad choices. Vega didnt know the men whod recruited him, which is typical in backpacker cases, so they didnt have any information to offer prosecutors in exchange for a shorter sentence. Still, racing never provided a stable income for Silvinoprize money wasnt guaranteedand most of the Tarahumara fared far worse. He also made a cryptic remark that wounded every law enforcement agent in the Big Bend. It was the eighth-annual ultramarathon here, and 120 runners, mostly Tarahumara, were going to set off from its plaza. Robert Stanley Chambers Obituary. Rick Thompson, former Presidio County sheriff, and rancher Glyn Robert Chambers received life terms from U.S. District Judge Jerry Buchmeyer of Dallas for shipping the cocaine across the Rio Grande River on Dec. 3, 1991. The squat white ejido headquarters proclaimed Porochi as the Tierra de Corredores, or the Land of Runners. It was the halfway point. Investigators from the federal public defenders office had seen Tarahumara come through their West Texas offices for five years, as had their colleagues in nearby Las Cruces. He attributed part of the Tarahumaras success to their minimal footwear; they ran with a lightness unfamiliar to American runners, landing on the midpoint of their foot instead of the heel. He would share his produce with family, friends, and neighbors, a true labor of love. Standing well over 6 feet, before putting on his hat and boots, he cut an imposing, even intimidating figure. The. Chambers testified he and Thompson hired more than 20 armed guards to protect the Rio Grande shipment and split $1 million for helping move the drugs. Now here he was, with six members of his own familynearly a year after Born to Run had become an international best sellerstriding through the dark up the boot heel of New Mexico. And when cocaine starts flowing across the Mexican border like never before, Robert dives in headfirst. But help never came, and speaking out became risky. For Chambers, it was one of the saddest days of his life. Organizers across the world sought Tarahumara runners for their races, and. A Presidio County native, Ponton dabbled in film in his early days and worked on the crew of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. After razing the corn and bean fields, they planted poppies instead. After the news broke of Thompsons possible link to the horse trailer, his supporters, including law officers and judges, rallied around him, convinced it all was a mistake or a setup. He was conditioned to navigating switchbacks. Then again, he spent much of his life severed from them. Federal public defenders were typically appointed the first defendant, and private attorneys, like Chambers, were tasked with the rest. More than five hundred Tarahumara, Silvino included, resolved to carry on anyway, and the mayor agreed to a version that cut out the downriver loop, where the major shoot-out had occurred. In backpacker cases, each defendant is on the hook for the entire load, not merely his own. A veteran of the DEA at the time, he had previously served in Mexico and Panama and was partner to Kiki Camarena, the DEA agent violently tortured and murdered in Mexico in 1985. Scott the Scoopis Pro Wrestling Warriors' play-by-play announcer. In 2003, Robert Chambers walked out of prison, after 15 years, a free man, still pursued by his own infamy. Thompson became sheriff in May 1973 after Sheriff Hank Hamilton was shot to death. Cops and crooks are of the same caliber. The South Bank Show returns to Sky Artsthis November with a sensational line-up of exclusive interviews, showcasing six brilliant women from across the arts: comedian Tracey Ullman, soul singer Beverley Knight, opera star Danielle de Niese, theatre producer Sonia Friedman, publishing powerhouse Gail Rebuck and a special show highlighting the importance of the arts in education . The head of the organization squeals on people who worked for him, and the DEA gives him a free pass. Now 68, he lives in Alpine, Texas. Robert and Kimberly both received bachelor's degrees in business administration from Texas A&M and were members of the Fellows program. Roughly forty miles northwest of Big Bend Ranch State Park, it is a place of extremes, a dry, barren land that is only ever hot or cold. For reasons that later became clear, Thompson would have nothing to do with the Drug Enforcement Administration, although he was close to other federal agents. They trudged silently past the scars of an old copper mining trail, long-gone railroad tracks and trading posts that once upon a time exchanged men, minerals, and equipment across the border to Chihuahua. Read more:Rickhoff kicks off Bexar County judge race with attacks on Wolff for "pay to play," art spending. Silvino, a farmer with four children, knew the canyons the way urban dwellers know city streets: every rock, cactus, and river bend was a sign. Chambers thought about how Vega wouldnt be there for his two sons as they grew into their teens. Hed hoped that once there he could stay a short time and workin the Permian Basin oil fields, perhapsand then return home with money for his. Then the judge asked Vega if he had anything to add. He just didnt like coming here, and I could see why. For months, Huisuchi had been cursed with drought. There are unanswered questions, he added. The American ultramarathoner Micah True got to know some of the Tarahumara runners in Leadville, and he was so changed by the experience that he later moved to the Sierra Madre. Robert Leroy Chambers Obituary It is with deep sorrow that we announce the death of Robert Leroy Chambers of Victoria, Texas, who passed away on June 21, 2022, at the age of 66, leaving to mourn family and friends. That year, many had shown up to the event starving, walking or hitchhiking from hundreds of miles around, bringing only the clothes on their backs. The citizens, he said. While Thompson, 72, is unlikely to return to Marfa, the painful story of his fall from grace soon will be told here again. Its untamable, though his family certainly tried. The vast majority of cases were for illegal entryimmigration crimes eclipsed all other federal offensesbut they also saw increased numbers of traffickers. Two runners in their mid-twenties were planning to challenge him, and the prize for winning was significant: 14,000 pesos ($765), which, coincidentally, was nearly the going rate for running drugs across the border. Hell walk straight. There were some things you couldnt outrun. Hed run rarajipari as a boy, and, per Tarahumara tradition, gambled on the race from an early age, winning soap, pens, and sometimes even a chicken. A landmark in Marfa, the old Presidio County Courthouse housed Rick Thompsons tax assessors office. Silvino swore he would never run drugs again, but by 2010, there was still not enough food to eat. The next year, Chvez ran in the Boston Marathon (possibly the first Tarahumara woman to do so) and, while there, spoke on a panel about indigenous running traditions. His people, an indigenous tribe of roughly 70,000 known as the Tarahumara, had originated on the lush plains east of the mountains. It turned out to be people burning salt cedar, an invasive species that saps water from the earth. There, they removed 40 heavy sacks, each marked with a blue polo player, the signature of a Colombian drug cartel. The revelation, he said, left him feeling used, humiliated and dumb.. ST v CASTILLO,ROBERT EASTMAN Case Summary On 01/26/2018 ST filed an Other - Other Criminal lawsuit against CA ST ILLO,ROBERT EA ST MAN. An informant had told the federal drug agents a tantalizing tale. The object of their intense interest was a red horse trailer parked at the county fairgrounds east of town. Not in West Texas. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents left him in Jurez without enough money for a bus ticket home. A pair of uncles on his moms side also went to prison for drug offenses, and so did a paternal uncle. They currently reside in Houston with their son, William. Robert F Chambers Address: 1414 W 51st St Austin, TX 78756 Name: Robert F Chambers Address: 1414 W 51st St Austin, TX 78756 Phone: (512) 454-6544 Dwelling Type: Single Family Dwelling Unit Length of Residence: 15+ years Median Home Value: $1,201,000 Median Household Income: $311,000 Vehicle: 1995 1998 FORD RANGER Report ID: 99303825 Now, 26 years after Thompson was sent to federal prison, his troubling shadow lingers over Marfa. A day before the race, however, Jurez hit men stormed the police station, seizing two officers and a teenager, and American organizers called off the race. I felt this sickness in my gut. Two weeks earlier. From there, the runners followed white arrows spray-painted on the ground into a forest of pion pine, juniper, and small oak trees. And over his four terms in office, Thompson had led a regional drug task force, filmed anti-drug television spots for U.S. Customs and was the president of the Sheriffs Association of Texas. Advertisements . International runners and film crews descended on the Sierra Tarahumara. When Chambers arrived at the detention facility, the 39-year-old Vega stood up to greet his lawyer. At the aid station, he declined water and collected a paper bracelet to confirm he had passed. Almost like brothers, one observer said. Thompson acknowledged his guilt and agreed to cooperate with federal investigators. Silvino felt the adrenaline course through him, and he told himself to escape to the mountains theyd crossed on their way north. Silvino wore athletic gear and blue-and-yellow Asicsthe trails were too slippery, the roads too hard, for huaraches. Robert Chambers ROW Manager at StrikeForce ROW Acquisition Service, LLC Granbury, Texas, United States 241 connections Join to connect StrikeForce ROW Acquisition Service, LLC BlackStone School. He moved swiftly. It seemed that everyone profited except the Tarahumara. Silvino emerged from the forest onto a roadreally a collection of rocks and dirt. After drug traffickers had taken over the ejido in Basihuare, Makawi had given an interview to a newspaper in Chihuahua, describing the situation and the growing recruitment of Tarahumara youth into organized crime. FCS Financial will contact you about financing this property. Even for a strong farmer like Silvino, who used oxen to plough his fields in Huisuchi, cultivating chia in Urique proved biblical in its afflictions. Chambers nodded. Robert Earl Chambers, Age 115 Traditionally they ran as a form of religious ritual, such as to celebrate the harvest, in two-team races called rarajipari. Thats whats hard to understand, he added. Youre strong and you know the way, they pleaded. McNamara, now 82, lives in Oregon with his wife. Silvino, a farmer with four children, knew the canyons the way urban dwellers know city streets: every rock, cactus, and river bend was a sign. In the Tarahumara, the cartels found literal drug runners, who not only could cover incredible distances but were desperate enough to do it. He crossed abandoned desert valleys on old Apache land with nothing to eat, drinking only dung-infested runoff water. Years earlier, while serving as an attach in Mexico City, Stinson had heard Mexican federal police mention Thompson in connection with the Ojinaga drug trade. The nickname some people gave him here was Walking Tall, Rivera recalled. Chambers told Vega that it was a good deal, and it helped when the Federal Bureau of Prisons sent back a recommendation of 46 months instead of 60. And he was making a pittance compared to Robert and ACF (Amado Carillo Fuentes. Mexican cartels, meanwhile, recognized an opportunity for a different sort of international commerce. There was no trial. Listing provided by BURMLS $549,000 3 bds 2 ba 2,305 sqft - House for sale 9 hours ago Loading. He hadnt been feeling well and had visited a hospital the day before. Still, he got paid only if he successfully completed his mission. The third time, though, in February 2007, Border Patrol agents found him and two others hiding in creosote bushes one hundred miles west of Las Cruces, with three backpacks that totaled 194 pounds. The drug lord known as El Zorro de Ojinaga (The Ojinaga Fox) was a mentor to Chambers and played a significant role as The Plaza who controlled all drug movement through the region into the U.S. Acosta, who was gunned down in 1987 by Mexican federales (with the assistance of the FBI) is featured in the recent Narcos Mexico series and the book Drug Lord, by former El Paso Times reporter Terrance Poppa. MARFA As the town slept fitfully late Dec. 3, 1991, its single traffic light blinking out a perfect pulse, shadowy figures moved through the streets, while others lurked on the outskirts. If we each look into our hearts, every one of us has made mistakes. View Robert I Chambers results in Texas (TX) including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. Uriques head of tourism watched in tears as Tarahumara runners collapsed. Barajas still recalls the general reaction when Thompson was implicated in the cocaine seized at the fairgrounds. When Chambers was still in law school, in 2012, Rogers had helped introduce him to the federal courts that were handling the influx of people and drugs coming across the border. Helping clients like Vega affirmed his decision, though it also generated no shortage of heartbreak. mother, Christine, didnt want to stay in Alpine because of the publicity. 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