Hourly Update

Feds asked to review citizen's arrest of illegal immigrants

PHOENIX -- Federal civil rights lawyers have been asked to review the case of an Army reservist who held seven undocumented immigrants at gunpoint at an Arizona rest stop to determine if any laws were violated. The Maricopa County Attorney's Office decided last week not to prosecute Sgt. Patrick Haab, who was arrested April 10 after the incident on Interstate 8. Haab, 24, said he drew a revolver that he was wearing legally in Arizona to stop six men who were rushing him, then ordered them and a seventh man from a vehicle and at gunpoint told them to lie face down on the ground. Haab spent four nights in jail after being arrested by Maricopa County sheriff's deputies on seven counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. But County Attorney Andrew Thomas decided against prosecuting Haab based on a state law that allows a citizen to make an arrest when a felony has been committed. "Mr. Haab's actions risked the lives of the illegal aliens he detained," U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton said Wednesday. "He risked his own life, and had law enforcement officers come upon that scene not knowing what was happening, he could have risked everyone's life." But Haab said federal authorities won't be able to touch him. "I know my actions were right," he said. "I know I was completely in the right. I'm pretty sure it is going to stand." Charlton said Wednesday that an initial review of the case found no federal laws that apply, so he asked the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division to look for possible civil rights violations. Barnett Lotstein, special assistant to Thomas, said Wednesday that the County Attorney's Office stands by the decision not to prosecute Haab.