Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies, Border Patrol agents, and the Patagonia Fire and Rescue unit responded to the San Rafael Valley on Feb. 28 after receiving a cell-phone call that a man had possibly been shot near Lochiel, which is on the U.S.-Mexico border 20 miles east of Nogales.

Jose Adrian Montenegro-Mendez, 33, died of a wound to the leg. Sheriff’s detectives said he was attempting to enter the United States illegally, along with his wife and brother, and an unspecified number of people.

According to Sheriff Antonio Estrada the call was placed at approximately 12:45 p.m. The caller said an undocumented foreign national was bleeding profusely from a possible gunshot wound. “Unfortunately, due the remote location, the reporting person had to leave the victim to obtain a signal for his cellular telephone, so he could not provide an exact location of where he encountered the victim,” said Estrada.

Deputies responded to Lochiel Road as well as Border Patrol agents from the Sonoita Sector and they searched until they found Montenegro-Mendez’s body 1.3 miles west of Lochiel and 1,000 feet from the border.

Estrada said preliminary reports indicate the shooting occurred in Mexico and that Montenegro-Mendez walked into United States where he died.

“A witness statement from the victim’s brother said the group was accosted possibly by the Mexico Army when they were shot at. The decedent shot from an elevated position which entered the right buttock, shattering the femur bone and femoral artery and exited through the right knee,” said sheriff’s detectives, who added that the witnesses traveled back into Mexico to seek medical attention for Montenegro-Mendez.

Lt. Raoul Rodriguez said that with the assistance of agents from the US. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the sheriff’s office was able to identify witnesses to the shooting. He said Mexican law enforcement officials were also notified.

“We are in the process of obtaining a one-day parole to interview these people and gather their statements,” said Lt. Rodriguez. “Hopefully they can provide the additional names and addresses of other witnesses traveling within the group.”

Montenegro-Mendez’s body was taken to the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office in Tucson for an autopsy. The case is under investigation.

This is the second fatal shooting reported this week related to illegal border activity. On the night of Feb. 24, Ernesto Ruiz-Soto was shot dead near Arivaca. Ernesto Ruiz-Soto’s brother said they were traveling with a group of 10 other illegal migrants when they heard gunshots. No suspects have been arrested in that case, according to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.

The shooting on Feb. 28 closely resembles three other incidents along the north side of the border over the past year in which the victims were shot in the leg. Local law-enforcement sources said they could not speculate as to whether this was a “calling card” of some sort, but Santa Cruz County Attorney George Silva did say he is working on setting up a task force to deal with the violence along the U.S. side of the border in Santa Cruz County.

Since the beginning of 2008, the SCC Sheriff’s Office has received more than 100 reports of robbery, four reports of non-fatal shootings, at least one rape, and two homicides. According to sheriff’s reports, thieves ambush the illegal migrants and steal jewelry and cash. The increase in competition among drug smugglers is also suspected to be a factor in shooting cases.