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Thread: Apolinar Altamirano Sentenced to 38 Years in Prison in 2015 AZ Murder of 21-year-old Grant Ronnebeck

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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Apolinar Altamirano Sentenced to 38 Years in Prison in 2015 AZ Murder of 21-year-old Grant Ronnebeck


    Grant Ronnebeck, 21




    Mesa QT clerk killed over cigarettes

    Grant Ronnebeck was working the graveyard shift Thursday morning at a central Mesa convenience store when an angry customer approached the counter.

    Ronnebeck's friends say the clerk was ill at ease at this particular QT, having been recently transferred from a store in what he thought was a safer area. Still, the 21-year-old was well accustomed to dealing with people in the wee hours — he'd been working in convenience stores since QT hired him at age 16.

    The man dumped a handful of change on the store counter just before 4 a.m., demanded a pack of cigarettes and, when Ronnebeck tried to count the money, pointed a gun at the clerk's head, authorities said.

    Ronnebeck handed over the cigarettes immediately, according to Mesa police, but it wasn't enough to save his life.

    "The clerk says, 'I can't give you the cigarettes until I count the money,' " said Detective Steve Berry, a Mesa police spokesman. "At that point, the (man) shoots him anyway."

    Police apprehended a suspect, identified as Apolinar Altamirano, 29, by 5:30 a.m. after a high-speed chase on surface streets and at least two Valley freeways.

    Ronnebeck was pronounced dead shortly after the shooting.

    "Grant had a big heart. He was loving and outgoing and full of life," Samantha Hansen, a friend of Ronnebeck's, said between tears. "It's unfair. To think it's over a couple of packs of cigarettes. It's not right."

    Hansen held her 1-year-old son, Jackson, while standing outside the yellow police tape surrounding the store at about noon on Thursday.

    Hansen and Ronnebeck were classmates at Mesa High School, where he took drama classes and painted his face purple — one of the school's colors — at Jackrabbits football games. They graduated in 2011.

    She described Ronnebeck as a people person who made friends quickly and was "like a comedian."

    "We are losing our funny friend," Hansen said.

    "He didn't deserve it. It was such a shock."

    A witness to the convenience-store shooting ran out into Stapley Drive, near Broadway Road, to flag down a police officer who happened to be driving by.

    Police said they used a vehicle description provided by the witness to quickly locate a suspect in a nearby neighborhood.

    But taking the man into custody proved far more difficult and dangerous. Police said Altamirano fled in a vehicle, triggering a high-speed chase on at least two Valley freeways that ended when an officer intentionally rammed the suspect's car, causing it to spin out in southwest Phoenix at 19th Avenue and Buckeye Road.

    Altamirano was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder, armed robbery, burglary, unlawful flight and misconduct involving weapons because he is a prohibited possessor. Court records show Altamirano initially was charged with burglary in 2012, pleaded guilty to an amended charge of facilitation to commit burglary and was placed on probation for two years. A court document said he was born in Mexico and was in the U.S. illegally. A judge had ordered notification of U.S. immigration officials.

    Although police appreciate witnesses' help and were glad to make a quick arrest, the outcome is still tragic, Berry said.

    "Unfortunately, someone took this life," he said. "Other than that, the best we can do is to get the suspect into custody quickly."

    http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/...abrk/22152235/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  2. #2
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Records: Murder suspect previously barred from Mesa QuikTrip

    A convicted felon was barred by a court order from entering a Mesa convenience store two weeks before surveillance video captured him shooting a clerk to death early Thursday morning, according to a court document released Friday.

    Apolinar Altamirano had been told to stay out of the QuikTrip at Stapley Drive and Broadway Road, in central Mesa, on Jan. 9, the document said.

    "I think he had been at the store previously and there was disturbance," said Detective Steve Berry, a Mesa police spokesman. "He was told he was not allowed in the store.''

    But the court orders didn't stop Altamirano, 29, from entering the store at 4 a.m. on Thursday, dumping change from a jar onto the counter and demanding a pack a cigarettes, the document said. It described how he grew increasingly irritated when the clerk, Grant Ronnebeck, 21, told him that he needed the money before he could hand over the cigarettes.

    MONTINI: Can anyone explain murder over a pack of cigarettes?

    A witness, who had stopped at the store on his way to work to buy a drink, told police that he overheard Altamirano say several times, "You're not going to take my money."

    Altamirano then pulled out a handgun and pointed it at Ronnebeck, the document said. The surveillance video shows Ronnebeck attempting to hand Altamirano the cigarettes, according to the police report, but Altamirano fires one shot, fatally wounding Ronnebeck, who collapsed behind the counter.

    "The victim was holding the pack of cigarettes out towards the defendant," according to the document. "The defendant continued to say 'You're not gonna give me my cigarettes, no.'

    "The defendant then fired one shot striking the victim," the report states.

    The surveillance video then captures Altamirano calmly stepping over Ronnebeck and grabbing a couple of packs of Marlboro cigarettes before he walks out of the store, according to the document.

    The document describes Ronnebeck had handed the witness a cup before the shooting, and how the witness had headed toward the fountain drink dispenser to get some water shortly before the shooting.

    After hearing the gunshots, the witness ran out of the store through an emergency door and flagged down a Mesa police lieutenant who happened to be driving by. He notified the lieutenant about the shooting and described a person who police later identified as Altamirano, and a maroon car the suspect was driving, the document said.

    Police entered the store and found Ronnebeck behind the counter. Ronnebeck was pronounced dead at the scene, the document said.

    Meanwhile, police said that officers briefly stopped the maroon car described by the victim in a nearby neighborhood, in the 500 block of South Bellview, and noticed a gun inside his car. The driver fled, leading police on a high-speed chase that ended at 19th Avenue and Buckeye Road, the document said.

    Police found two guns inside the car, a 9mm semiautomatic and a revolver, the document said. Altamirano was taken into custody and booked into jail on suspicion of first-degree murder, felony flight, armed robbery and other charges, according to court records. He also was a prohibited possessor whose rights had not been restored after he pleaded guilty to a facilitation to commit burglary charge on an unrelated case, police said.

    http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/...abrk/22219037/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Suspect in Mesa QT killing faced deportation proceedings

    The man accused of gunning down a Mesa convenience-store clerk over a pack of cigarettes was facing deportation proceedings but had been released from federal custody on bond, authorities said Monday.

    Federal immigration authorities launched the proceedings two years ago against Apolinar Altamirano, but he was released on a $10,000 bond shortly after his conviction on a burglary charge.

    While Altamirano, 29, was out of custody, two injunctions against harassment were issued against him by a Mesa Municipal Court judge. "I am in fear for my life," one woman wrote, adding that Altamirano had threatened to kill her "plenty of times" and pointed a gun at her boyfriend, according to court records.

    The latest order was served on Altamirano on Jan. 19. Three days later, he was accused of first-degree murder in the slaying of Grant Ronnebeck, 21, a Quik Trip clerk who was shot to death after Altamirano dumped a jar of change on a counter at 4 a.m. and demanded a pack of cigarettes.

    Ronnebeck initially told Altamirano that he needed to give Ronnebeck the money before he could give him the cigarettes, but Altamirano responded, "You're not gonna take my money," and pointed a gun at the clerk, the document said.

    Ronnebeck was handing over the cigarettes to Altamirano when a surveillance video captured Altamirano fatally shooting him and later stepping over his body to grab two packs of cigarettes, according to the court document. Police say they found the cigarettes when they took Altamirano into custody after a high speed chase at 19th Avenue and Buckeye Road in Phoenix.

    In statement released Monday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acknowledged that Maricopa County Superior Court had informed the agency about Altamirano, that he had been taken into custody and was released pending the outcome of his case in immigration court.

    Altamirano had pleaded guilty in 2012 to a reduced charge of facilitation to commit burglary and placed on two years of supervised probation, even though he had claimed ties to the Mexican Mafia after entering a woman's apartment in Mesa after Mesa police had arrested her boyfriend on drug charges, court records show.

    "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) assumed custody of Mr. Altamirano on January 3, 2013, following his conviction by the Superior Court of Arizona, Maricopa County, for Facilitation of Burglary in the Second Degree," the ICE statement said.

    "After reviewing his immigration and criminal history, which showed only this conviction, ICE determined that under applicable law, Mr. Altamirano was eligible for bond. Mr. Altamirano posted a $10,000 bond on January 7, 2013. Mr. Altamirano's removal case was still pending with the immigration courts at the time of his most recent arrest."

    Liz Chatham, former chairwoman of the Arizona Chapter of American Immigration Attorneys, said she does not specialize in deportation law, "but generally speaking, yes, there is an incredible backlog in the immigration courts."

    She said it is not unusual for an immigrant accused of being in the U.S. illegally to wait two or three years for a hearing. She noted that the bond in Altamirano's immigration case is very high, likely because of his prior conviction.

    Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies, said the case is an example of an Obama Administration policy where ICE sets a very high standard for which undocumented immigrants are held in custody and is more apt to release people awaiting immigration court hearings.

    "There's no logical reason for ICE to let people like that out of custody instead of sending them home," Vaughan said. "If they had kept him in custody they could have deported him much for efficiently."

    By releasing convicted felons like Altamirano, "They are playing Russian Roulette with public safety," she said.

    Jerry Cobb, a spokesman for the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, said he cannot respond to questions regarding Altamirano because his murder case is pending prosecution.

    "In the overwhelming majority of cases involving a first time non-violent felony or even a second non-violent felony, it is very rare for a defendant to receive a prison or jail sentence," Cobb said.

    A pre-sentence report in the 2012 burglary case said Altamirano was born in Mexico and came to the U.S. when he was 14 years old. It said he had been married to the co-defendant in the burglary for nine years and they had two children. It also said

    Altamirano never attended school in the U.S. and the highest grade he completed in school was fifth. He had been working as a landscaper prior to his arrest.

    A probation officer recommended supervised probation but not jail time, even though she expressed concern about Altamirano's "possible involvement with drug sales."

    She wrote, "He is also in the United States illegally and he is involved in criminal activity."

    http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/...ings/22383351/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  4. #4
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Please tell me how on earth someone who is a foreign national, comes into the country illegally and commit crimes, not only gets probation, but is able to bond out of jail?
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Senior Member CnCP Addict maybeacomedian's Avatar
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    I was just thinking that exact same thing! I bet the woman who he allegedly threatened to kill posted his bail.

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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Thats not my point. I meant how does one not get deported as soon as they are arrested and found to be in the country illegally? Probation should be for citizens of the US, not foreign nationals.

    If you're caught doing a minor crime like shoplifting, and Canada finds out you are illegal, you sit in jail until you have been convicted and done the jail time, and then you are promptly sent home. If you are just caught for being illegal there are detention facilities, specifically for illegals, where you stay until you are deported.
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Senior Member CnCP Addict maybeacomedian's Avatar
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    You're right. The amount of privileges that illegal aliens get in the USA is disgusting. Anyone who opposes giving these privileges to illegal aliens is promptly labeled a "racist" by the Liberal party.

  8. #8
    Senior Member Frequent Poster schmutz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Helen69 View Post
    Please tell me how on earth someone who is a foreign national, comes into the country illegally and commit crimes, not only gets probation, but is able to bond out of jail?
    He had two children who were citizens, so that could have played a role in the decision.

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    how many crims would take notice of a court order to 'stay out of a shop'... ???

    Sounds like plenty of alarms went off and he slipped through more than once..

  10. #10
    Senior Member Member DStafford's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by schmutz View Post
    He had two children who were citizens, so that could have played a role in the decision.
    Shouldn't. I've read of parents who are shipped back to Mexico and their US-born kids can stay here (if they can find foster homes) or go with their parents.

    -Dawn

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