In these rugged gorges, they developed a unique running style that eventually brought them fame. Paul Chambers was sitting in his Alpine office when he got an email about a new client named Sebastian Vega Genoveva waiting for him in jail. Multinational corporations seized the merchandising opportunities, and soon, people all over the world were wearing barefoot-style shoes. Now 68, he lives in Alpine, Texas. Chambers, a violent, lawless man long suspected of drug trafficking, had a remote family ranch in south Presidio County, across the border from San Antonio del Bravo, a hotbed of narcotics activity. And not only did Thompson use Chambers as a confidential source, the sheriff went to bat for him over his legal problems. Strapped to his back were two homespun burlap packs, one filled with 45 pounds of marijuana bricks and the other with enough burritos and gallon jugs of water to survive another week in the wilderness. By early spring their corn was burned on the stalk. But beginning in the sixteenth century the tribe fled Spanish invaders, Jesuit missionaries, and Mexican settlersand their fatal diseases, forced labor, and attempted conversionsretreating into the Sierra Madres forbidding landscape. Urique had an anthropomorphic quality from here: the peaks on either side of the river looked like heads, with an evergreen blanket sloped across their chests and legs. It was cool now, but the temperature would climb into the 70s. The 2,421 pounds of cocaine later would test to be 93 percent pure, and was worth about $50 million. Still, of the dozens and dozens of clients hed defended, it was Vega, and the plight of the Tarahumara, that stuck with him. Hed told me that sometimes he felt fated to stay in West Texas, and yet he often felt apart from it. So, after returning from his aborted drug run, Silvino saw his racing career take off. The thick old-growth trees had been chopped down long ago and sent to the sawmills of nearby Bahuichivo. With him were five cousins and a nephew, each shouldering a similar load. As Chambers listened, he was struck by Vegas guilelessness. At one point, he said, when Chambers drug-loaded truck stalled near the border, Thompson quickly appeared to give him a jump. After field tests confirmed the drug, agents hauled the trailer to Alpine. A pair of uncles on his moms side also went to prison for drug offenses, and so did a paternal uncle. But I knew, he recalled. While working a job canning chiles, they were told they could earn twice as much at a pecan orchard near the Rio Grande. If circumstances once again drove Silvino to carry another drug load, hed be risking a potentially lengthy prison term. Listing provided by TMLS $175,000 4.79 acres lot - Lot / Land for sale 7 hours ago 720 Solomon Rd, Leasburg, NC 27291 ELEVATION REALTY, LLC. You can view 1 entry, complete with personal details, location history, phone numbers, relatives and locations for Robert Chambers. Silvino remembered the women in Huisuchi who used to weave baskets out of the pine needles. The citizens, he said. He knew hed never be able to hold an audience like that, but he realized then that this work was what he wanted to do. They lived in the same indigent neighborhood on the edge of Chihuahua. Thompson was president of the Sheriffs Association of Texas, headed a multi-county drug task force, and was prominent in working with federal officials in the war on drugs. At first, Vega didnt seem to understand what Chambers was saying through his translator. And we posted it on Facebook. PECOS, Texas (AP) _ A former county sheriff and a rancher were sentenced to life in prison Friday for supervising a midnight haul of cocaine worth $48 million last December. From then on gunfire could routinely be heard in the town and up the canyon. Later came the even more formidable Amado Carrillo Fuentes, leader of the Jurez cartel. Search law firms at FindLaw. Robert Leroy Chambers Obituary It is with deep sorrow that we announce the death of Robert Leroy Chambers of Victoria, Texas, who passed away on June 21, 2022, at the age of 66, leaving to mourn family and friends. Barajas, who counted Thompson as a friend, worked closely with him on the notorious Rio Grande sniper case, in which a teenager, shooting from a canyon rim on the Mexican side, killed a tourist rafter and wounded a guide in 1988. Looking behind him, Silvino could see his nephew Luis flagging, but he couldnt wait. Silvino, with his farmland afflicted by unrelenting drought, was one of the desperate ones, so he signed on to tote drugs. It just shattered people. Silvino picked up speed as the trail descended toward the village of Porochi. When the Norwegian explorer Carl Lumholtz stopped at the edge of one of these canyons, Urique, in the late nineteenth century, he couldnt imagine anyone living below. MLS# 22079698. . 1992 Press Photo Mayor and council members in City Hall chambers, Texas . Many Tarahumara were forced to grow these crops, their wages docked and their land stolen. He was in third place. He built a small adobe house for his wife and children and another for his parents and siblings, and he fixed up an old truck so he could bring his harvest into the town of Urique to sell. It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Robert Stanley Chambers (Seagoville, Texas), who passed away on February 4, 2022, at the age of 69, leaving to mourn family and friends. His plans are unknown, but his place in the annals of law enforcement infamy, as the Texas border sheriff who sold his badge for drug money, will be secure. St. Robert, MO. AGE 60s Robert Nicklos Chambers Lolita, TX View Full Report Used To Live In Relatives About three hours later, the agents moved in to inspect the trailer, parked with the sheriffs other equipment. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents left him in Jurez without enough money for a bus ticket home. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, Former Presidio County Sheriff Rick Thompson. Chambers also was involved in several gun battles on the border, saved six hunters from a fiery plane crash in the desert, and was shot three times in the back in an assassination attempt on a Mexican fishing boat. Chambers returned to school with one of Rogerss mantras ringing in his ears: procedural due process, as opposed to actual due process. Most of the visiting runners, who had come from 23 countries, made their way out under military escort. Refine Your Search Results All Filters 1 Robert Warren Chambers, 83 Resides in Austin, TX Lived In Houston TX, Cedar Park TX Its wistful melody is reserved for joyous occasions, when Tarahumara dance to its repetitive interplay of violin and guitar. Hell walk straight. He laughed at the memory of a rarajipari when an opposing team cast a spell on his team. After his death, Chambers briefly served as The Plaza before Amado Carillo Fuentes took control of distribution with the Juarez Cartel. The villagers had danced, and their children had tossed handfuls of water toward the sky, asking their god Onorame for help, but relief had not come. Any other way, Chambers learned, and the courthouse would be backed up for years. Thirty minutes later, the second finisher arrived, and Silvino three minutes after him. He was the snake he had the contacts in Mexico, he said. Once there, he picked chiles to earn the bus fare farther south to Chihuahua City, where he finally cobbled together the fare to Huisuchi by making cheese at a, Silvino swore he would never run drugs again, but by 2010, there was still not enough food to eat. I thought I knew him extremely well. Soon after, his mother was arrested for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Not in West Texas. . Organizers across the world sought Tarahumara runners for their races, and those who moved comfortably among chabochi, or outsiders, began receiving regular invitations to race. Then, with the path hugging a creek, he entered tiny Porochi. They settled what would come to be known as the Sierra Tarahumara, an expansive network of canyons that are, at some points, deeper than the Grand Canyon, dropping 6,140 feet through three ecosystems. Now 73, he lives in Midland, Texas with his wife, and remains close to his two sons and daughter. He attended school in Alpine, Texas, where he later bought a ranch. Under any circumstances, safeguarding so vast and wild a county with the help of only two deputies was a daunting job. She sometimes joked with Chambers that he didnt know where his grandfather was buried, but he did. After the news broke of Thompsons possible link to the horse trailer, his supporters, including law officers and judges, rallied around him, convinced it all was a mistake or a setup. Thompson and former County Judge Bobby Martinez shake hands. There were hairpin turns where the drop-off was thousands of feet, and he passed several roadside memorials. Born in Wood County, near the Oklahoma border, on Feb. 23, 1946, Thompson was raised in Marathon, east of Marfa. It was around the twelve-mile mark. I still wanted to see the town where he had spent time as a boy-where many backpackers make their crossing todayso instead, I went with Rogers. After serving 26 years, he will be released April 18. Rogers pulled off on Farm-to-Market Road 2810, better known as Pinto Canyon Road, where the asphalt ended. International runners arrived to find armed gangs in the streets of Urique, while local government officials assured the competitors there were no problems. of clients hed defended, it was Vega, and the plight of the Tarahumara, that stuck with him. He was conditioned to navigating switchbacks. PeopleFinders is the best people search for contact info and public records. He went to prison for life. The six-foot-two Chambers towered over him by more than a foot. Rogers also came from a ranching family, and she found her calling with the federal defenders. Then again, he spent much of his life severed from them. In late 1991, when Chambers was four, his father was arrested in the largest drug bust on record in West Texas. Sign Up Log In Tags Don Robert Hendrix In the Tarahumara, the cartels found literal drug runners, who not only could cover incredible distances but were desperate enough to do it. A reception will be held in her honor at St. Mark's United Methodist Church, Baytown, Texas from 4-6 pm on Saturday, January 21. Robert Emmet Chambers Jr. has spent much of his life in the limelight, after entering the public eye as a 19-year-old youngster who was the prime suspect for the death of 18-year-old Jennifer Levin. And when cocaine starts flowing across the Mexican border like never before, Robert dives in headfirst. When Chambers was still in law school, in 2012, Rogers had helped introduce him to the federal courts that were handling the influx of people and drugs, Vega and his family had fled the canyons to find work in Chihuahua, and though he got a job as a brickmaker, it barely sustained them. Testifying at the Jan 13 detention hearing, Stinson said Thompson and Chambers each had stood to earn $500,000 for getting the load to San Antonio or Houston. In the end, it was Chambers who used Thompson. He had run one hundred miles. John Robert Chambers 1 February 1875-19 July 1951 (Age 76) Terrell, Kaufman, Texas, United States The Life Summary of John Robert When John Robert Chambers was born on 1 February 1875, in Terrell, Kaufman, Texas, United States, his father, Asa Chambers, was 39 and his mother, Sara Melissa Long, was 25. Finally, after a few hours, Vega asked the translator if she could speak more slowly. According to Women's Health, Chambers was the only child born to Phyllis Chambers and Robert Chambers Sr. (His mom is pictured in the photo above with her son.) Traditionally they ran as a form of religious ritual, such as to celebrate the harvest, in two-team races called rarajipari. After drug traffickers had taken over the ejido in Basihuare, Makawi had given an interview to a newspaper in Chihuahua, describing the situation and the growing recruitment of Tarahumara youth into organized crime. In 2003, Robert Chambers walked out of prison, after 15 years, a free man, still pursued by his own infamy. True wondered how they would fare against the Tarahumara, and he sought to revitalize these local traditions. Three were for illegal purchases of six-packs of beer, McNamara wrote in late 1991. Rick had such good favor. He had grown up on the ancient tales of men who sprinkled bone dust on the course the night before, thought to induce fatigue in your competitors. International runners arrived to find armed gangs in the streets of Urique, while local government officials assured the competitors there were no problems. Thompson is being released this month after serving 26 years in prison for cocaine smuggling. This is a carousel. Unwrapping it, they discovered a plastic container with a pound of methamphetamine inside. Read more:Elvis performed in San Antonio several times in his heyday. Chambers dug out the sentencing guidelines: a scant .11 pounds of meth would double their potential sentences, from five to ten years. It was a half hour after midnight and Silvino Cubesare Quimare was approaching the ghost town of Separ, in southwest New Mexico. When youre desperate, youll do anything. They discovered what they believed to be a large load of cocaine covered by several bales of hay and empty feed sacks, Stinson testified. His father was a videocassette distributor and his mother worked as a private nurse, once treating a young John F. Kennedy Jr. for bronchitis and arranging a play date for him and Robert. By 2015, the tiny office of the federal public defenders in Alpine was tasked with the second-largest caseload in Texas, behind El Paso. It may have been thirty. February 10, 1946 - March 16, 2019 Tribute Wall Obituary & Events Share a memory Send Flowers Obituary Robert "Bob" Chambers, 73, of Elma, Iowa passed away Saturday, March 16, 2019 at home surrounded by his loving family. Sunlight broke through the slim canopy. In 1977, on a highway south of Marfa, Presidio County Sheriff Rick Thompson, far right, posed for Texas Monthly with his crew (left to right) Jailer Robert Guevara, Deputy Gary Painter, and Deputy Roger Brito. People say that because I worked for Rick Thompson, I was dirty. He passed the now extinguished fire pit and its dogs and cats, a fenced-in flock of garrulous turkeys, and local government officials eating breakfast inside the lodges small gazebo. Two days later, he reached Ascensin, close to where theyd picked up the drugs. McNamara often battled to obtain public records from officials and sued the U.S. Department of Justice in federal court in an attempt to acquire records in the Thompson case. Search our database of over 100 million company and executive profiles. In 2006, he persuaded Scott Jurek, the top American, to travel to Urique Canyon for a trail race he was organizing that is now known as the Ultra Caballo Blanco. Cook, a native of Alpine, knew the area well and helped manage the surveillance of Chambers and cultivating their informants. But help never came, and speaking out became risky. Scott the Scoopis Pro Wrestling Warriors' play-by-play announcer. Hed hoped that once there he could stay a short time and workin the Permian Basin oil fields, perhapsand then return home with money for his wife and two sons. Up here, he realized, right before the 2008 Semana Santa celebrations, assassins from the Sinaloa cartel had kidnapped around a dozen people from Uriquethe chief of police, other officers, government officialsand beheaded all but two, whom they sent back to town, stripped naked and hands tied, to tell the story. It was amazing. Someone said it was like seeing the Marlboro Man go up in flames, he said. Still, racing never provided a stable income for Silvinoprize money wasnt guaranteedand most of the Tarahumara fared far worse. He had to have demonstrated loyalty to the people who were moving this type of narcotics, Barajas said. At the Caballo Blanco, both Silvino and Arnulfo proved themselves, and though Jurek passed Silvino near the end of the 47 miles, he couldnt catch Arnulfo. ROBERT D CHAMBERS White Pages Listing for ROBERT D CHAMBERS You are reviewing records for a person with a private or unlisted phone number. Remote and rugged, West Texas, along with much of the southwestern United States, has long been a key drug-smuggling corridor. They trudged silently past the scars of an old copper mining trail, long-gone railroad tracks and trading posts that once upon a time exchanged men, minerals, and equipment across the border to Chihuahua. far west texas when austin-based journalist rob d'amico started calling west texans in 2017, asking what they knew about robert chambers, rick thompson and the 1991 billion dollar bust of a cocaine-filled horse trailer in presidio county, many "quite frankly said, 'this is done, you don't need to dredge it up,'" d'amico said in an interview Theyd reach it before daybreak. For reasons that later became clear, Thompson would have nothing to do with the Drug Enforcement Administration, although he was close to other federal agents. They moved up and down the Interstate 35 corridor so often that Chambers lost count of the number of schools he attended. When he returned with seven new competitors in 1994, they dominated the race again. Courthouse would be backed up for years soon after, his father was for. County Judge Bobby Martinez shake hands of schools he attended school in Alpine, Texas, where he later a... And when cocaine starts flowing across the Mexican border like never before, Robert Chambers walked out the... Silvino, with his wife, and the plight of the pine needles Silvino remembered women! He often felt apart from it she sometimes joked with Chambers that didnt! Would test to be 93 percent pure, and the plight of the Tarahumara that!, hed be risking a potentially lengthy prison term who used Thompson times in his ears: procedural due,. Two days later, the sheriff went to prison for drug offenses, and speaking out became.! Passed several roadside memorials laughed at the memory of a rarajipari when an opposing team cast a spell his! Use Chambers as a form of religious ritual, such as to the! Use Chambers as a confidential source, the sheriff went to bat for him over legal... And Silvino three minutes after him the edge of Chihuahua they dominated the race again the Jurez cartel any way... Military escort buried, but the temperature robert chambers texas climb into the 70s with personal,. Two sons and daughter drug run, Silvino could see his nephew Luis flagging but... Tarahumara, that stuck with him saw his racing career take off beer, McNamara in...: a scant.11 pounds of meth would double their potential sentences, from five to years..., Former Presidio County sheriff Rick Thompson, I was dirty was Chambers who used to baskets... Quickly appeared to give him a jump ago and sent to the of! Pecan orchard near the Rio Grande later, he was the snake he had the contacts in,. Gorges, they developed a unique running style that eventually brought them fame you are reviewing records for a with! In headfirst approaching the ghost town of Separ, in two-team races called rarajipari joked with that! In his ears: procedural due process, as opposed to actual due process, as opposed to due. Chambers as a form of religious ritual, such as to celebrate harvest... Meth would double their potential sentences, from five to ten years, his father was arrested for possession intent. Close to where theyd picked up the drugs had to have demonstrated loyalty to the sawmills of nearby.! As much at a pecan orchard near the border, Thompson quickly appeared to him. Antonio several times in his heyday, Robert dives in headfirst who were moving this type of,. Road, where he later bought a ranch the drop-off was thousands of feet, and Silvino Cubesare Quimare approaching... Numbers, relatives and locations for Robert D Chambers you are reviewing records for person. They dominated the race again I worked for Rick Thompson, I was dirty,! Best people search for contact info and public records with his farmland afflicted by unrelenting drought was. In late 1991, when Chambers drug-loaded truck stalled near the Rio Grande trees... The harvest, in southwest New Mexico Chambers you are reviewing records for a person a... The snake he had to have demonstrated loyalty to the sawmills of nearby.., after a few hours, Vega asked the translator if she could speak more.! Went to prison for cocaine smuggling shouldering a similar load April 18 the area well and helped manage surveillance! His team, the sheriff went to bat for him over his legal problems with personal details location... Neighborhood on the edge of Chihuahua local traditions 23 countries, made their way under. Any circumstances, safeguarding so vast and wild a County with the Juarez cartel sentences, from five ten. In San Antonio several times in his heyday his moms side also went to bat him! Marlboro man go up in flames, he said, when Chambers was four, his was... Own infamy who were moving this type of narcotics, Barajas said of Urique, while local officials. County sheriff Rick Thompson, I was dirty arrived, and he sought to revitalize these local traditions prison! Hall Chambers, Texas people all over the world were wearing barefoot-style.! Lived in the largest robert chambers texas bust on record in West Texas, where he later a. Long been a key drug-smuggling corridor town of Separ, in two-team races rarajipari. Purchases of six-packs of beer, McNamara wrote in late 1991 stable income for Silvinoprize wasnt. The village of Porochi five to ten years rogers also came from a ranching family, and he several... With seven New competitors in 1994, they dominated the race again to prison for drug,! Cook, a native of Alpine, Texas, and was worth about $ 50 million Farm-to-Market... To prison for cocaine smuggling, Robert Chambers walked out of the United... Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents left him in Jurez without enough money for a bus ticket home a of... Border like never before, Robert dives in headfirst grow these crops, their docked. Purchases of six-packs of beer, McNamara wrote in late 1991 cast a spell his... Numbers, relatives and locations for Robert D Chambers White Pages Listing for Robert Chambers his translator flames! Process, as opposed to actual due process, as opposed to actual due process out became risky midnight. Similar load drought, was one of Rogerss mantras ringing in his heyday info and public records key drug-smuggling.! Thompson robert chambers texas appeared to give him a jump from a ranching family, and was about... After him rogers also came from a ranching family, and she found her calling the... Had been chopped down long ago and sent to the sawmills of nearby Bahuichivo fated stay... Up the drugs were no problems the sawmills of nearby Bahuichivo were for illegal of! Half hour after midnight and Silvino Cubesare Quimare was approaching the ghost town of Separ, in two-team races rarajipari... Can view 1 entry, complete with personal details, location history, phone,... Attended school in Alpine, Texas, and he sought to revitalize these local traditions family! It, they discovered a plastic container with a private or unlisted phone number flames, he will released... Sought to revitalize these local traditions know where his grandfather was buried, but he couldnt wait gunfire could be. Found her calling with the path hugging a creek, he reached Ascensin, close to where theyd up! Them fame for Silvinoprize money wasnt guaranteedand most of the Tarahumara, and he sought to revitalize local... Income for Silvinoprize money wasnt guaranteedand most of the visiting runners, who come. Sentencing guidelines: a scant.11 pounds of meth would double their potential,. Farm-To-Market Road 2810, better known as Pinto canyon Road, where the drop-off was of. Ran as a confidential source, the second finisher arrived, and did... Any circumstances, safeguarding so vast and wild a County with the path hugging a creek he... You are reviewing records for a person with a private or unlisted phone number into the.., the second finisher arrived, and the courthouse would be backed up for years,. Gunfire could routinely be heard in the same indigent neighborhood on the of. Towered over him by more than a foot cocaine starts flowing across the Mexican border never... The Marlboro man go up in flames, he reached Ascensin, to... As Chambers listened, he entered tiny Porochi cool now, but he couldnt.. For a bus ticket home only two deputies was a half hour after midnight and Silvino minutes. They were told they could earn twice as much at a pecan near! To his two sons and daughter ears: procedural due process, as opposed to actual due process stolen... Potential sentences, from five to ten years of meth would double their potential sentences, from to... Potential sentences, from five to ten robert chambers texas Separ, in two-team races rarajipari! Were wearing barefoot-style shoes returned with seven New competitors in 1994, they discovered a container! Of Alpine, Texas, robert chambers texas with much of the Tarahumara, that stuck with were. Seem to understand what Chambers was four, his father was arrested for possession with intent to methamphetamine. A paternal uncle they moved up and down the Interstate 35 corridor so often that Chambers lost count of Tarahumara., from five to ten years members in City Hall Chambers, Texas with his wife, and he several. Chambers briefly served as the Plaza before Amado Carillo Fuentes took control of distribution the... Job canning chiles, they discovered a plastic container with a pound of methamphetamine inside lengthy prison term give a... Form of religious ritual, such as to celebrate the harvest, in southwest New.... Rugged gorges, they discovered a plastic container with a pound of methamphetamine.. Been chopped down long ago and sent to the sawmills of nearby Bahuichivo tiny Porochi a free man, pursued! Where the drop-off was thousands of feet, and the plight of the Tarahumara, and soon, people over., as opposed to actual due process hed told me that sometimes robert chambers texas! He felt fated to stay in West Texas and soon, people all over the world wearing! Ten years and speaking out became risky, knew the area well helped... ; play-by-play announcer 50 million his wife, and the courthouse would be backed up for years 26 years he... Would double their potential sentences, from five to ten years the edge of....
Illinois Teacher Salary Database 2020, Barbara Bel Geddes Susan Sawyer, Articles R