Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   ADDITIONAL ITEMS • Green Valley News and Sun story (External Link)   Related Stories • Shawna Forde cohort a 15-time offender 9/6/09 • Arizona will seek death penalty on Shawna Forde 8/14/09 • Death penalty sought against Minutemen leader Forde and 2 others 8/13/09 • Shawna Forde’s alleged conspirator is now charged in 1997 East Wenatchee killing 7/31/09 • Jason Bush investigated in 1997 killing 7/29/09 • New scrutiny of Shawna Forde by Everett police 7/16/09 » More SHAWNA FORDE stories >   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Tuesday, July 7, 2009 Confession made in Arizona killings, newspaper reports By Scott North Herald Writer An Arizona newspaper is reporting that Jason Eugene Bush has confessed to being the gunman who killed two people during a May 30 raid on an Arivaca, Ariz. family's home. Bush admitted the killings on June 11 when he was arrested near Kingman, Ariz., the Green Valley News and Sun reported this afternoon. The newspaper quoted Pima County sheriff's Lt. Michael O'Connor as saying that Bush wasn't offered a plea deal. “He murdered a little girl,” the newspaper quoted O'Connor as saying "I think it was hard on him." Bush co-defendant in the killings is Shawna Forde, 41, of Everett, leader of Minutemen American Defense. Forde, Bush, 34, and Albert Gaxiola, 42, all are jailed in Tucson on murder charges. Raul Flores, 29, and his daughter, Brisenia, 9, were killed when camouflage-wearing intruders took over the home while posing as law officers and then suddenly opened fire. The girl's mother also was shot, but she managed to arm herself with a handgun and drive the attackers away after a gun battle. Pima County, Ariz., officials have alleged that Forde orchestrated the raid in hopes of finding cash and drugs in Flores' home. She allegedly planned on using the robbery to raise money for her group. Forde was as suspect within hours of the killings after tipsters led investigators to Gaxiola's home, according to previously released police reports. Flores' wife had described her attackers, including a woman who matched Forde's description, and a tall, hulking man with his face painted black. Bush stands 6 feet 5 inches. He was arrested June 11 near Kingman, Ariz. Forde and Gaxiola were arrested the next day. Bush called himself "Gunny" and reportedly told others in Forde's Minutemen American Defense group that he was a decorated Special Forces veteran who'd survived combat in Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq. Pentagon officials say there is no record that Bush served in the military. Instead, court records reveal Bush spent much of his teens and early 20s behind bars. He was locked up in Idaho, Kansas and Washington state, where he served nearly five years in prison for a variety of charges, including auto theft and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Bush also is charged with second-degree murder for a 1997 stabbing death of a Wenatchee man. He allegedly was connected to the killing earlier this year based on genetic tests on evidence collected nearly a dozen years ago. Before he went to prison in the late 1990s, Bush had worked as a welder, according to court papers. He apparently was looking for engineering management jobs earlier this year, according to resumes and cover letters posted on-line using Bush's e-mail address. The cover letter features a photograph of Bush in a construction hard hat and suggests that he is an engineering manager, project manager, surveyor and draftsman. "In my career I have developed a management technique and a set of internal controls that drive others to excel in the workplace," the cover letter said. 'I have a history of cutting costs, trimming fat and smoothing the rough edges of my departments. I also have a history of not only saving money but generating it as well." READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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