Page 75 - Sun Rays May 2013

MAY 2013 SUNRAYS | 75
ONLINE: SCTXCA.ORG
of a group of scientists from Commu-
nist Red China who had been granted
permission to tour a facility in Denver.
One of them asked for political asylum.
In her gut, Sherrill knew that’s where
her husband was. She was right. He and
another agent stayed with the man for
two days while both countries worked
things out. The man was granted asy-
lum, but ended up returning to Red
China because his family was receiving
death threats.
OFFIcEr IN cHArGE
About three quarters of the way through
his career, Garry was named Officer in
Charge of a medium-security prototype
prison for illegal immigrants who com-
mitted crimes in the U.S. Because of
the long lag time before being tried in a
court of law, many of the accused would
run, never to be seen again.
This prison was designed to house up
to 500 illegal immigrants and 500 Bu-
reau of Prison residents, many of them
attorneys and judges. This allowed for
swift justice, and the running stopped.
The concept was so successful that to-
day many of these types of prisons exist
around the country.
Garry did it all...from Border Patrol
Agent to Immigration Inspector to INS
Examiner, Deportation Supervisor, Spe-
cial Agent and Criminal Investigator,
to Officer in Command of a prison. He
worked special security at the Olympics
in Salt Lake City. He also worked 30
days as armed security in New Orleans
after Katrina, where the stench of death
was so bad he had to cover his nose with
Vaseline. His bed was a cot set up in a
parking lot. From day 1, the Salvation
Army fed and offered help whenever and
wherever needed. He has nothing but
heart-felt praise for ‘the Army.’
Since 9/11, INS is known as ICE (Immi-
gration &Customs Enforcement) and the
Justice Department is known as Home-
land Security. Garry ended his 35-year
career as an ICE agent in 2007 in San
Angelo, Texas.
All of us salute you and thank you, Gar-
ry, for your years of dedicated service
to keeping us safe. We thank you, too,
Sherrill, for your years of undeniable
support of the man behind the badge.
During his time in Brownsville, Texas, Garry and his team caught two men hauling
a pick-up camper filled with marijuana. After a thorough body search, Garry and
his partner handcuffed the guys to a bench in the almost-dilapidated INS trailer.
Garry stepped outside for a moment and, when he returned, saw a pistol being
aimed at his partner. (Guess that search could have been a bit more thorough.)
The partner was shot in the arm before Garry put a shot into the groin and out the
butt of the smuggler. Transporting the marijuana would have been a misdemeanor,
but attempted murder got him a 30-year sentence. Not a very bright guy.
As we all know, when we get older, night driving can be hazardous. So the agents
were suspicious when an elderly couple, one using an oxygen tank, came through
the check-point in the middle of the night pulling a travel trailer. Surprise again! The
trailer had been totally gutted and was filled from floor to ceiling, head to stern,
with bales of marijuana. Older people…sometimes not so bright, either.
Customs at the Stapleton Int’l Airport in Denver did a strip search of a nervous
Frenchman who had hundreds of thousands of dollars secured to his leg with Ace
bandages. Good advice: don’t be nervous when committing a crime.
Border
Patrol
Tales