[nashsimpson]

I am speechless. WTF???

This could be used as an argument for allowing people to have firearms. At least then he might have had a chance.

[BajaGringo]

It was a completely senseless crime on multiple levels and yes, at least if he would have had a gun in his hand when he went outside he might have had a chance. We’ll never know now…

[nashsimpson]

Or at minimum, take one of them with him.

[cabodream]

Exactly.

[ralph]

Maybe….but against an AR15 odds are against you.

[BajaGringo]

Better than the odds of having no gun to defend yourself

[bajabill]

The motive behind all of this was an old Kombi van? What am I missing?

[BajaGringo]

And they abandoned it – out of gas – just a few hours later. I agree, it makes zero sense. What happened to Cristina and I nearly 11 years ago didn’t make any sense either. Criminals are not usually rocket scientists and their actions are not always the result of carefully, well thought out planning…

[cabodream]

Drug users like criminals on the run don’t care how old a vehicle is when they steal it. It’s a means to an end and nothing else.

[blitzer]

That’s true. My brother-in-law just retired from the Long Beach police last year and he told me that thieves sometimes prefer older cars cuz they are so much easier to take and much less likely to have any kind of tracking device.

[JuanSoler]

Until they catch one of them we will probably never know.

[tom-lindsay]

Exactly, this makes no sense?

[ralph]

Is it normal for common criminals to carry assault rifles? .223 shells would indicate an AR15 type rifle.

[bajabill]

Don’t think so. Your typical car thief doesn’t even carry a gun as they know a simple car theft charge is much easier to walk away from with little to no prison time but if caught with a gun in the theft the time served usually goes way up. I agree with others who think they are either cartel or a well organized gang that was taking the van to commit another crime.

Are old VW vans relatively easy to hotwire? I honestly don’t know.

[bajabill]

Have they found the van yet?

[BajaGringo]

I just got a PM telling me that they found the van just hours later and out of gas. This is really weird. Why risk so much for a Kombi van only to dump it hours later? They must know they have a lot of heat on them right now. San Felipe is not Bahia de Los Angeles and they are looking for these guys everywhere right now.

[cabodream]

Shooting an old man like that, they deserve to die a horrible death.

[blitzer]

I would slowly dismember any punk who did that to my abuelo, who just turned 82.

[JuanSoler]

So many possibilities – they could have broken down and needed something quick and easy to steal, wanted the vehicle to commit a different crime, haul drugs, whatever. Although running out of gas seems weird unless the gas gauge wasn’t working?

[guacamole]

This just makes no sense. I thought the common belief was driving an old vehicle would greatly improve your odds against becoming a victim of something like this?

[bajabill]

I suppose it could have been taken to use in another crime so the next logical question is what else happened that night?

[cabodream]

If it was an attack or kidnapping of a cartel member, it may not have been reported.

[guacamole]

Wow!

[bajabill]

Yeah, criminals don’t usually call the cops, that’s for sure.

[bajajeepers]

Crap, so really sorry about this! What kind of lowlifes do something like that? I pray they suffer a slow, miserable and extremely painful end.

[six-one-niner]

They could be drug addicts but probably cartel members if they use AR-15. But why would they take an old car? Maybe to do a drive by later? Any reports of other shootings in the area?

[JuanSoler]

I agree. Hard core drug addicts rarely carry guns as they cost too much and simply pawn them off when they need another fix. AR-15’s are either a very organized local crime gang of thieves or cartel members. This happened in the same general area where the car jackings happened near Gonzaga and I think they were also armed with AR-15s.

[cabodream]

Oh God, how awful! He looks like such a kind man. I hope they catch the perps and bury them alive in a deep hole, somewhere far outside of town.

[laguera]

A very, very deep hole and far, far outside of town where nobody will ever find them.

[blitzer]

That’s sooooo wrong. God help them if they are taken alive. In Mexican prisons they often treat perps who rob and kill someone that old the same way they do rapists and child molesters.

[JuanSoler]

That was more typical in the old days when there was some level of a “code” but really not followed as much anymore as the general depravity of criminals being sent to prison keeps getting worse. As low as the bar was before, it’s a lot lower now.

[cabodream]

I always thought that “honor among thieves” bit was a bunch of crap born in the head of a novelist or Hollywood movie.

[laguera]

OMG, that is heart breaking! 😥 I will pray for his family and for his killers to be caught to face justice and the consequences.

[six-one-niner]

God this so angers me, to see such decent people and at this point of their life to be subjected to such terrible violence and death. A nephew was killed in Tijuana many years ago by a strayed bullet from gunfight between drug dealers when he was walking home from school. He was a good boy, a good son and a good student. If anyone know Mr. Cutters wife and family, please tell them I am very sorry about this tragedy and we will pray for them and for justice.

[JuanSoler]

Really sorry to hear that, my condolences. The young son of a friend I went to school with was taken in broad daylight walking home from soccer practice in a suburb of Mexico City a few years ago. His body was found at a trash dump a few weeks later, full of 9mm slugs. A few think that he might have witnessed a robbery that happened in the general area, about the same time he left practice but his parents will probably never know what really happened. It’s all senseless.

[six-one-niner]

Thank you. In spite of so many years that have past, his parents still grieve deeply.

[cabodream]

I am so sorry

[offroadrage]

Outrageous! Pretty sure my buddy Roy knows/knew Allen – I’ll ask him. I know a lot of people these days who only ride down there carrying – regardless of what the law says. So what was the motive supposedly – his old VW van?

You have got to be shi**ing me, that is just so F**KED UP!!!

• This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by  BajaGringo. Reason: Language

[tom-lindsay]

How absolutely awful. I am so sorry to hear about this and send our love, thoughts and prayers to his wife and family. I pray they have lots of friends and family surrounding them right now to give them support and comfort.

[amandae]

Hopefully so.

[tom-lindsay]

This has always been our greatest fear and each time one of these horrible events happen in Mexico involving expats it makes us rethink our own plans to retire there, as much as I hate to admit it.

[guacamole]

I think a lot of us question our plans when something like this happens. It’s difficult not to see yourself in their shoes.

[tom-lindsay]

We try to let some time go by and let our fears calm a bit before making any drastic changes to plans. I know these kinds of things are relatively rare with tourists or expats but still it’s hard not to be concerned. It would help a little if we see them caught quickly charged. I know that is of little consolation to his family.

[BajaGringo]

After Cristina and we’re attacked here and left for dead 11 years ago, we asked ourselves the very same question. But it was all of the good people here in San Quintin who responded, saving our lives, ensuring we received the best available care, watching over our home and caring for our animals and gardens and helping the police to catch the 3 brothers who attacked us and stole our vehicle. We returned for all these good people here who stepped up to help and have never regretted it…

[tom-lindsay]

Thank you for sharing that and I suppose that’s a side to such tragic events we often don’t get to see only reading the news of something awful like this. I guess we need to hear that for some perspective.

[six-one-niner]

My next door neighbor where we used to live in north San Diego county was shot dead at his store in a robbery for less than 300 dollars a few years ago. Criminals today have no conscience whatsoever.

[cabodream]

Where we used to live in the states it was always so peaceful and quiet but that has changed in recent years with home invasions, car jackings and other violent crime on the rise including an elderly couple who were murdered in their home on our old street in a robbery. In fact homicides were extremely rare when we lived there but now it’s almost every week there is at least one it seems. We just need be extremely cautious anymore, wherever we go.

[miraflores]

I have been going back and forth on deciding whether or not to move back down to Mexico (where I was born). Stories like this don’t make that decision easy.

[amandae]

It’s not just Mexico. I am afraid every single day when I send my two kids off to school. Last year they found a gun in the locker of a kid at my son’s high school.

[BajaGringo]

The world continues to become an increasingly violent and unsafe place and I don’t see that trend turning around anytime soon. Each day there are more and more of us all competing for a finite and shrinking amount of resources, including breathable air and fresh water; each day we keep adding new things to fight over to the already long list of conflicts.

[gaviota]

Yes, that seems to be the pattern everywhere and if the inhabitants here on this planet don’t get our collective crap together soon, this is going to get a lot worse.

[bajatraveler]

How awful and his poor wife having to witness it all. RIP Allen and may those responsible burn in hell.

[bajabill]

And hopefully they go at an early age.

[screeski]

A terrible thing and my sincere condolences to his family. Unfortunately these types of events are occurring with greater frequency all over now and even here in Canada where we have strict gun control laws. The number of homicides in the more remote areas are really going up and most of those cases remain unsolved. I trust nobody these days, always suspicious and alert to anything going on around me. No way in hell would I go outside in the middle of the night to check on a noise I heard, in Canada or Mexico.

[amandae]

How awful! That poor man and I cannot imagine his wife went through at that moment and what she going through now. This world is falling apart.

[laguera]

It feels that way at times when reading a story this.

[screeski]

Does the area where this happened have security guards? Is it gated or just open to anybody?

[amandae]

Good question, I’d be interested in knowing that too.

[mx-rider]

I believe it is gated but as I recall it’s not that difficult for an outsider to get in there. At least when we rode by in 2019.

[JuanSoler]

I don’t remember any security at the gate last time I was through there.

[offroadrage]

This is exactly why I will never live in Baja. Too many there see us expats as their personal ATMs.

[mikel]

If you really think that is true then you should stay north of the border.

[offroadrage]

Your in denial if you don’t recognize that fact and are probably an easy mark. Wise up.

[BajaGringo]

Save that thought for another thread, not really appropriate here and a bit disrespectful IMHO.

[offroadrage]

And which thread would be best suited for that discussion, pray tell kimosabe?

[BajaGringo]

The thread you start on that topic.

[paranewbi]

OK… I’ll bite. I think a ‘safety’ thread is good to start. Maybe add some personal experiences? Look for it.

[JuanSoler]

Great idea.

[offroadrage]

Where is it?

[laguera]

What is that supposed to mean???

[BajaGringo]

My advice is to ignore or block him, he’s just trying to get your goat.

[offroadrage]

Many down here only see us as for the dollar bills we carry in our wallets. That’s been my experience after 35 years of traveling south of the border.

[paranewbi]

To some extent, yep. I observe that as a symptom of the poverty cycle that permeates our beloved neighbors to the south. Yet, immersing oneself in relationships with those we connect with that are natives there, takes time and repetition. But the rewards can be enriching for both parties. There will always be bad players we come across, yet we shouldn’t let that cloud our opinions with generalizations that only deprive each of us of a choice to interact personally with anyone.

[cabodream]

Touche amigo, that has been my experience as well.

[screeski]

Spot on @paranewbi

[amandae]

Any updated news?

[laguera]

I looked and couldnt find anything? 🙄

[trekker]

An old retired ministerial cop told me years ago that a high percentage of the perps involved in a homicide down here flee the area if not the state or country for awhile until things cool off. The ministerial police here work with much more limited resources than what you may see on CSI and when they do release any information to the press before catching the perp it is usually because they hit a dead end and for the sole purpose of stirring the pot – to see what shakes out. When they don’t say much they often have some leads but working informants to locate the perp, his/her accomplices or simply wait for the perp to drop their guard and return. They almost always come back eventually he told me, it’s a waiting game and why so many homicides aren’t solved immediately but months and even years later down here.

[bajabill]

Cops north of the border today depend a lot on what they can access electronically; your credit card statements, bank accounts, credit report, cell phone usage, social media, mortgage info, home power consumption, etc etc. Down in Mexico they still do police work – for the most part – the old fashioned way, something many gringos are unaware of.

[bajabill]

The problem is that sometimes so much time goes by that the case gets cold, the detectives lose interest and move on to a new case. I hope they do catch the perps but if they didn’t grab the perps in the first 24 hours this could take a while, that’s all I’m saying.

[screeski]

That has been my observation as well.

[gaviota]

This so deeply concerns and saddens me. RIP Allen.

[offroadrage]

I spoke with a friend of Allen and he told me the old guy was a sweetheart, the very last guy who should have gone out this way.