Flashback - 1982 - 2 die in Miracle Valley battle - Long expected, the shooting finally comes

[Ptah]

2 die in Miracle Valley battle

Long expected, the shooting finally comes

By Paul Brinkley-Rogers
© 1982 The Arizona Daily Star

MIRACLE VALLEY — "You've got to kill us if you want us, man," Robert Luckett
yelled at the sheriff's deputy backing away from a woman with a large rock in her hand.

Then Luckett screamed, "Wait right here till I come back with a gun, and
then we'll see who's the dead man."

But by the time Luckett ran back, with nunchakus — an Oriental weapon — instead of a gun,
Deputy Ray Thatcher was gone. He was lost in a sea of church members attacking him and
35 other deputies on Axehead Drive with everything from teeth to gun butts.

That's what Arizona Daily Star photographer Jim Davis and I saw first as we leaped from
my pickup after following close on the heels of half a dozen sheriff's
patrol cars responding to an urgent appeal for help.


http://azstarnet.com/news/blogs/morgue-tales/tales-from-the-morgue-battle-at-miracle-valley/article_242b3418-9582-11e1-a7b4-0019bb2963f4.html

[Ptah]

1. Deputies relive shootout at Miracle Valley

Feb 19, 2009 7:28 PM

The day will be remembered in infamy for many of Southern Arizonans
especially for those involved.

Larry dever quickly recalled the day on the calender that jumps out at him,
"Oct. 23, 1982," he said. "If i happen to forget, someone calls me on that day."

Dever is the sheriff of Cochise County now but, nearly 27 years ago, he was
a young deputy caught in a crossfire.

"Looking back, there are lessons learned, " Dever said. "When we went there
I realize we shouldn't have gone so deep into their compound but at the time
you're thinking 'is this really happening?"

<snip>

On that dark day in October, two members of the church were killed, so was a deputy.
Dever was one of seven injured with a gun shot wound to the face. "Looking back,
we should have shot the first guy that came out with a 30-30 shotgun," Dever said.
"We let him shout and point the gun at us and that just impowered them...
Noone wanted to be the flashpoint to set off a shootout."

http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/global/story.asp?S=9801248

[Kali]

2. some guy came out with a book last year

Dever got hurt if I recall (didn't read the links yet). I can kind of remember it, although I think we were in Guaymas on our honeymoon right when it happened. And at that age/time I wasn't paying much attention to much but partying and having fun. There was some racism for sure, but some of it was regionalism too, and they were kind of nutty but there are definitely two sides to it. Amy Goodman did a story on the anniversary a while back too. Might be in the archives of DemocracyNow! somewhere.

[panader0]

3. Devers is dead--an accident in his truck--alcohol was involved.

I live fairly close to where this happened. I was here for the whole saga including the car-jacking at the corner of 90 and 92, the hammer throwing incident and the van that blew up when the home made bomb went off. Some wild shit.

[Kali]

4. you were there during the MV stuff?

we had a thread about Dever's death last fall
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1038880

[panader0]

5. Oh yeah

I've been out here since the mid seventies, bought my forty in '78. Then my masonry license. Then a few too many wives.
The kids are grown and gone now. For many years I was the only one on my road. Now I have many neighbors, but still have 30 acres.