commit a crime against a cop you go to jail forever! the system is biased toward governmet buerocrats. also i tend to beleive the guy who said he though he was being robbed by crooks. crooked cops is you ask me. Original Article Illegal gets 51 years for shooting deputies By Gary Grado, Tribune June 21, 2005 An illegal immigrant from Mexico was sentenced Monday to 51 years in prison for wounding two Maricopa County sheriffs deputies in a shootout in December. Prosecutors sought a 63-year sentence for Jorge Guerra-Vargas, who said in Maricopa County Superior Court that he fired on a sevenmember Special Weapons and Tactics team not knowing they were cops. "I thought they were thieves. I was scared," Vargas said through an interpreter. Vargas pleaded guilty May 2 to three counts of aggravated assault. A sheriffs SWAT unit was serving a search warrant Dec. 16 at a trailer home in a county island in Mesa when Vargas opened fire with a 9 mm handgun after the unit busted in and threw open a curtain used as a room divider. Sean Pearce, son of Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, was shot in the stomach and Lew Argetsinger was shot in the hand. Rod Jackson was shot in the chest, but his body armor and a magazine of ammunition stopped the bullet. Each deputy told Judge David Talamante about how they have been affected by the firefight, which took place in close, darkened quarters. "For the rest of our lives, well carry this with us," Argetsinger said. Jackson said he caught a glimpse of Vargas taking cover as Pearce opened the curtain, but he restrained himself from shooting the man because for that instant Jackson didnt consider him a threat. But in the next second, Pearce was yelling that hed been shot and Jackson saw Pearce going down out of the corner of his eye. Jackson also felt the impact of the bullet. "I go, Wow, I think I got shot," Jackson said. Deputy James Alger remembered the sound of passing bullets and felt the sting of fragments. Jackson ended it by shooting Vargas. "That was the longest eight to 10 seconds of my life," he said. Talamante said Vargas deserved a harsh sentence and that Talamante didnt buy Vargas claim that he didnt know he was shooting at deputies. Contact Gary Grado by email, or phone (602) 258-1746