EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – It was the fall of 2022, and migrants were coming across from Mexico into Far West Texas in record numbers.
Border Patrol agents were picking up to 1,000 people a day from the fringes of South El Paso to remote areas in Hudspeth County. Among those crossing between ports of entry was a group of six individuals who stopped to drink water from a rural reservoir near Sierra Blanca, Texas, on the evening of September 27.
Simultaneously, two brothers were approaching the reservoir in a truck. The truck stopped, and a man identified as Mike Sheppard allegedly got out with a shotgun and fired in the direction of the migrants.
One shot struck Jesus Sepulveda Moreno in the face, killing him. The other shot Berenice Casias Carrillo in the abdomen, causing her hospitalization. Sheppard allegedly said he thought he was shooting at a wild animal in the distance.
Casias and Sepulveda’s family want compensation, one for injuries, the other for wrongful death. Their civil suit against Mike Sheppard’s employer is set to begin at 10:30 a.m. on August 19 in Senior U.S. District Judge David Briones’ courtroom in El Paso.
In court filings, the plaintiffs’ attorney alleges Sheppard was driving a truck registered to LaSalle Corrections and was “on the clock,” so to speak, due to traveling on business to a water board meeting to represent his employer. Sheppard was the warden of the private detention center in Sierra Blanca.
The lawsuit does not specifically target Mike and his twin brother Mark Sheppard, but rather was filed against LaSalle Corrections.
Mike Sheppard “was the highest-ranking management person stationed at the facility and had the authority to employ, direct, and fire employees,” the lawsuit states. “At the time of stopping the truck near the reservoir, the two men were on their way to a meeting of the Hudspeth County Water Control and Improvement District No. 1. Mike Sheppard, as the LaSalle warden, was attending that meeting for the benefit of LaSalle Corrections.”
LaSalle Corrections’ attorneys filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction within a month of the lawsuit being filed. Judge Briones denied it. LaSalle then alleged Sheppard wasn’t performing a task for the company at the reservoir. Briones declined to dismiss the case on those grounds as well.
Sepulveda’s family is suing for loss of care, sustenance, support, and others. As representatives of his estate, they also want compensation on his behalf. Sepulveda is survived by an infant.
Casias is suing to recover damages from injuries sustained because of an assault and battery. Those include physical pain, mental anguish, loss of earning capacity, disfigurement, physical impairment, and medical expenses.
The State of Texas is investigating the criminal aspect of the case. Former El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks told the court in a filing he could not provide details about the criminal investigation because it was being conducted by an independent agency, the Texas Rangers.
Assistant District Attorney Ray Duke later stated in a separate filing that releasing facts about the Texas Rangers’ findings on the case could interfere with their ongoing investigation and “potentially taint the extremely small jury pool in Hudspeth County.”
Border Report reached out to the attorneys for the plaintiffs and the defendant and is awaiting a response.
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