Three weeks ago, forty-one-year old Jose Gutierrez lived in an affluent Los Angeles neighborhood with his wife and two children, had a solid job as a film engineer, and served as the frontman for popular Spanish rock band, FZ10.
On March 21, all of this changed when the Los Angeles Immigration Court deported him for being an undocumented immigrant, even though Gutierrez has lived here since childhood, supports his US-citizen family, and has no relations in Mexico.
Gutierrez and his wife, Shena Wilson, lost contact after his deportation, though she sensed that he would try to return since their five-month-old baby daughter was in the hospital.
When she next heard of him, Gutierrez was in a coma at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix.
From the LA Weekly blog:
Wilson got a call from the Mexican consulate in Yuma, Arizona, saying, “We have to let you know that there has been an accident.”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection will only tell Wilson that, on March 30, her husband made it to the second inspection at the San Luis point of entry in Arizona before he “got scared and tried to run back.” When he allegedly tried to fight off CBP agents, they whipped out a taser.
Here’s the CBP account:
An individual being processed for entering the country illegally March 30, at the San Luis Port attempted to flee into Mexico. The man was combative, ignored commands to halt and subsequently was subdued by CBP officers using an electronic control device (ECD). Initial reports say the man struck his head on the ground during the incident.
Emergency medical personnel responded to the scene and took him to a local area hospital for further medical attention.
We regret the injury and will continue to actively cooperate with the ongoing investigation.
Wilson says taser marks are all over Guttierez’ chest and arms, and his tooth is out of place. He has two black eyes (which nurses tell Wilson are from the head injury) and part of his skull has been removed to relieve pressure.
