Saw the jeep pull up and he was already getting out of his car. And at that point i knew. This is obviously brought to light, and, again, reemphasizes debate were having on illegal immigration. When somebody says to you, well, steve, these people are just coming here for a better life, how do you respond to them . Some are. Absolutely, some are. But others, others are wanting commit crimes and they want to be able to live the high life because they can get rid of them. They can get away with it, i should say. We have a certain amount of them that are abusing our system. Its not right. Its not fair. They have no right to be here if theyre going to commit the crimes that theyre committing. You and i discussed before the program, and i want to get this out there right off the citizenship for people here illegally. You are not a hater. Absolutely not. You want to get that out there. Bebecause people will immediately paint people who bring up this topic as haters. Absolutely. Is it not reasonable for the United States of america to say, if you want to be here and youre doing the right thing we welcome you with open arms. Path to citizenship, well deal with that later. Youre okay. Were going to deal with it. You had a clean record. If youre a troublemaker, we want you out of he. Is that unreasonable . Absolutely not. Why cant people talk about this . We have heard the argument over the years that these people do the jobs that we dont want to do, or that nobody wants to do. Im not a big fan of that attitude. Why are they afraid to talk about it . You know, i cant answer that question. You get painted as a racist if you talk about it. Huge population of illegals in this state alone, that yeah, you can get painted as a racist. So people tend to just ignore the problem like its going to go away. You have started a push with congressman matt salmon who represents you in mesa, thats where you live, grants law, tell me about it. Grants law is basically in a nutshell that these illegals that commit vi and it doesnt even have to be Violent Crimes these illegals that commit these crimes never see freedom or free soil again. They are whether theyre convicted or not, if theyre arrested for a Violent Crime they are basically once local Law Enforcement is done with them, they immediately get taken into custody by i. C. E. List as far as deportation proceedings. That will happen within 90 days. And then they are deported. And if they return after that . Well, theres no real law at this point, matt salmon is also writing kates law, which deals with kate steinle in san francisco, who were going to talk about later. Let me take you back, before we get into this, get tape number two ready, if you will. 29yearold apolinar altamirano, the young man who killed your son, by all accounts, he hasnt gone through the process yet. But its pretty clear on the video tape what happened. This was over a pack of cigarettes. Worse yet, it was over grant wasnt counting change fast enough. He brought in change that night. It was 4 00 in the morning. He brought in that change in a jar. Dumped it on the counter. I guess the exchange summed up to be what, youre not going to give me my cigarettes . Grant responded, i need to count your change. And at that point he pulled a gun on grant. Grant offered up the cigarettes. Here you go. And altamirano went ahead and shot him in the face. Twice. I dont know about twice. But i know he was shot in the face. You lose your son. You know your son has been killed in the convenience hes 21 years old. Youre dealing with the stunning news of that, and im sure youre numb. When did you first start to learn about who had killed your son . It was later in the day. The police had come to the house. And they had told me that they did have they did have altamirano in custody. Were you asking questions . Who is this guy . Why did he do this . I wasnt able to. This. They were just volunteering. A little bit later in the day i had had another visit from mesa police department. And thats when, you know, it was let out that he was an illegal. Did your sadness turn to anger pretty quickly or were you just still numb . I was still numb. The anger came a couple weeks later. I want to take you to tape number two. This is apolinar altamirano. The 29yearold who has been charged with shooting and killing 21yearold grant ronnebeck. Take a look. Your full name, please . Apolinar altamirano. The accused killer didnt say much in court and he kept quiet when he was interviewed by police, but security cameras captured what happened at the quiktrip near stapley and broadway, around 4 tuesday morning. Police say the suspect, 29yearold apolinar altamirano, brought in a jar of change to pay for a pack of cigarettes. As the victim, 21yearold grant ronnebeck, was counting the change, the suspect said give me my cigarettes . After the victim told him the money had to be counted first, altamirano pulled out a gun. Court documents show the victim gave him the cigarettes, but police say altamirano opened fire anyway. The suspect then slowly walked behind the counter, stepped over the victim and took several packs of cigarettes and slowly walked out of the store. Altamirano pleaded guilty to a 2012 burglaryrelated charge and had recently finished probation. In court the prosecutor talked hes in the country illegally. Does not have status to be here. Was given bond by the federal immigration authorities while they had a hearing to see whether he would be deported from the country, and during that period of time is when he committed these. We believe theres probable cause that he committed these offenses. Steve ronnebeck, grant ronnebecks father, is our guest on newsmaker sunday. About this whole issue of immigration that you knew of . Did he articulate it ever . He was kind of like me. We had talked about it in passing. We never had any indepth conversations. He knew that they cost the taxpayers money. You know . We provide their health care at times. So there was there was a general it bothers us, but, again, until it affects you directly you dont hav you dont have any feelings towards it. I want to roll tape number four. This had happened before grants death. This is brandon mendoza, a mesa police officer, killed by a drunk wrong way driver. Mendozas crash became politicized when his mom penned a later to president obama. Lets see tape number four if we can here. She wrote to president obama sons killer had been in the country illegally. He had been convicted of a crime in colorado. Authorities let him go on a lenient sentence. Theres brandon mendoza. You had heard about this story before this ever happened to your son. Do you remember thinking about this . I remember thinking how tragic it was. Senseless. Absolutely senseless. Absolutely. You call thespr crimes. Absolutely they are. Absolutely. And i expressed to you before the interview, you know, people are going to say all murder is preventable, all these crimes are preventable. But in this select area, in this select group, had they not been here, had they been deported and if they had reentered, had they been jailed, my son would be alive. Kate steinle would be alive. Steve, you have you been political in the past . Have you taken politics very seriously . Because your brother, now, i guess it was your brother, who testified on capitol hill about this exact thing. He was very outspoken about grants death. I never really was political. I am now. I see things that are wrong, as far as kate steinle, officer mendoza. Theres a young gentleman, named glovach, in houston that was executed through the window of his car. In traffic. In traffic. After he was taking his girlfriend home. Jamil shaw, another one that was executed in california. Right. The two officers his fathers been very outspoken. Yep, jamil shaw. Steve, who do you blame what is going on . Well, you know, the system is flawed. Okay . Thats the biggest thing. I. C. E. Being overloaded and in some cases not doing what theyre supposed to be doing is definitely a problem. Unfortunately im going to have to call out our president. That his dreamer act and his partially to blame. Well, the word on the street, lets be very honest about this. Basically right now the policy stands as this. Unless you are a really serious criminal you frankly face no threat of deportation right now under the Current System where we are right now. Thats correct. Pretty much i. C. E. Has been told to lay off. Nobodys going to Deport Anyone unless they are charged with a serious crime and first of all, theyd have to go through the system here before that would ever happen, right . So, the man who killed your son, tell me a little bit about what he was in for before he was released, because i think people will find this very interesting. He was a very violent man. He had been arrested for basically kidnapping, sexually assaulting a woman for a week, him and another man. Burglary. Was this a drug deal . What was this . Drug repayment . Nonpayment . Drugrelated. Thats all i can tell you. But they basically raped this woman for a week. Held her hostage. Burglarized the apartment. And this was an associate of theirs. This was an associates girlfriend. This associates in jail when they did this, okay . And they pled it down to simple burglary. Felony burglary. And they released him to i. C. E. He never did any real prison time. They released him to i. C. E. Granted him a 10,000 bond and let him out. Did he have gang affiliations, do you know of . In the one Court Document that i saw, he was a selfproclaimed member of the sinaloa cartel, and the mexican mafia. Not the kind of person you want in your community. Absolutely not. Tell me a little bit about the before we go to break, with you a little bit about this guy. The only thing that they were able to share with me is that hes shown no remorse. None. None. Were going to take a break here on newsmaker sunday. Steve ronnebeck, who lost his son, grant, shot and killed. Grant was working at a qt that i think hed been working at for several years before this happened, since he was maybe he was 21 years old. Shot and killed by a man who was in the country illegally, who basically executed him at 4 in the morning back in january. Were back with steve and his story and his push to try to fix this as newsmaker sunday continues right after this. Music back on newsmaker sunday. The father of a young man who suspect in the qt shooting. 4 a. M. On january 22nd, 21yearold mesa Convenience Store clerk grant ronnebeck was shot and killed by that man, who was in the country illegally, 29yearold apolinar altamirano. He had an extensive violent criminal history. Should not have been in the United States by any measure, should not have been roaming the streets, by any measure. Yet he was. And a young man is dead because of it. Steve ronnebeck, grants newsmaker sunday. Lets roll tape number six. This would have been several months after you lost your son. We learn about kate steinle, in san francisco, this beautiful young woman, shot and killed, again by a guy in the country illegally, who was a total troublemaker, who gets a hold of a gun, and whether it was an accident or not, shoots and kills her. And she dies right before her father out on the pier in san francisco. Its absolutely heartbreaking. When you hear these stories, now, steve, what goes through your mind . What do you think and what do you think should be done . Well, first things the first thing, it just opens that wound over grant. I mean, it just reopens it. Its just absolutely tragic and heartbreaking that its continuing. Its not getting any better. Its happening. And its happening more often. What should be done about it, we need to we need to put a stop to this immigration policy that says its okay for these people to commit crime and to go back to walking our streets. Its just a preventable crime. Its a preventable crime. Its got to stop. I have to ask you about then, a few weeks ago, donald trump comes on the scene. This is a protest outside of the Convention Center in downtown phoenix. Trump, on immigration, made this statement when he announced for president , this is a quote, when mexico sends its people, theyre not sending their best. Theyre not sending you. Theyre not sending you. Theyre sending people who have lots of problems and theyre bringing those problems with us. Theyre bringing drugs, theyre bringing crime, theyre rapists and some, i assume, are good people. What did you say . What was your reaction . You know, im going to use the young lady that testified with my brother, im going use her quote, if thats okay. We were heard. We were heard. We were heard. Somebody heard us. Were you surprised that it tapped into a deep reservoir of discontent among some really say, finally someone has got the courage to say we have got a real problem with this. We have been very accommodating. Maybe overly accommodating. Especially when it comes to bad apples. Absolutely. And its just absolutely wonderful that some of these lawmakers are now standing up and theyre saying enough is enough. Are you kind of cheering for donald trump in this thing . Anyone, as far as who id like to see win. But hes at least raised an issue that for many had kind of gone off the radar. Oh, absolutely. And it completely did go off the radar until kate steinle. Some of this had been swept under the rug. And even you didnt hear about the young man in houston that was killed shortly after grant was. Thats the policy trying to keep it from coming out. Soon brought this to the forefront. He has made this an issue that to get addressed. Have you talked to Kate Steinles family, have you talked to Brandon Mendozas mom . Is there a group of you who kind of commiserate about this failed policy . I have not had a chance to talk to the steinle family, my brother has. I have had a chance to talk to mrs. Mendoza. Theres a group called the us together about a month ago. Just a Wonderful Group of people. And theyre all about this problem. We have a little time after the break. But i want to give you a moment to talk about your son. Tell me about grant. Grant was he was just one of those kids that did anything for family, did anything for friends. He and i didnt realize it until his funeral, that he had so many people that loved him and that he had touched so many people. We had gotten messages from just simple customers of qt that your son would brighten my day. Even if i was having a bad day, your son could make me smile. Grant also as i heard during the memorial, would take care of customers sometimes who couldnt pay the bill. I heard that. I have heard that that was true. Doesnt surprise you. No. No. Do you believe that these efforts politically will bear fruit . The work with matt salmon that youre doing to try to pass grants law and change some of this madness . I have to believe it. Its, its my way of honoring my son. Not too many people know, but grant was actually paying about a third of our household to give me and grants brother a little bit, make it easier, give us a little bit better life and make things a little bit easier for us. So obviously i cant repay him monetarily, so this is how i need to repay him. Were back with Steve Ronnebeck who lost his son, grant, in a senseless, preventable killing at the qt in january in mesa. Were back on newsmaker sunday in a moment. Music final thoughts from Steve Ronnebeck who lost his son, grant, in that qt shooting. A young man in the country illegally, with an extensive criminal record, killed his son. Shot him in the face over a pack of cigarettes. What should happen to this guy now . Well, justice, obviously. What would that be . What would justice be, steve . Well, you know, the consensus is that the Death Penalty is on the table. Its a senseless, depraved, merciless killing, and premeditated. And premeditated, was the big thing. So, the Death Penalty is definitely the general consensus. Hes shown no remorse. Not a bit. Do you blame him or the politicians for allowing this to happen . Absolutely both. Do you believe were entering a point in our country where were going to actually going to deal with this issue . Do you think were getting to a Critical Mass where something has to give . Absolutely we are. It has to happen. Something has to happen. You know, were going to be pushing overpopulation in the next 50 to 100 years. We have to do something. And i want to put it on the record again, youre not a hater. No. You even favor a path to citizenship for people who are here legally. Absolutely. Youre just saying, when theres a criminal element, youve got to get rid of them. And maybe as a nation, we have the right to be selective about who we do admit and who we dont admit. Absolutely we do. Absolutely. These criminals are people that we dont need. They arent productive in our society. 30 seconds, what would you like to tell folks out there . This is something that can happen to anyone. You always dread that knock on the door in the middle of the night that one of your children may be hurt, so on and so forth. But what id say is keep hold of the loved ones, keep them close. If youd like more information on grants law, h. R. 2942, you can go to youtube and see the press conference with me, matt salmon and sheriff arpaio. Kates law, theres also a video on youtu f law. Id really like it if somebody would take a look at it. Steve, thank you for being here. Im so sorry for the loss of your son. Thank you, sir. Well see you next week on newsmaker sunday. As one of the caribbeans top destinations, the Dominican Republic is not exactly off the travel trail. Indeed, tourism is booming, so much so that today its very possible to go and not even pay the capital city of Santo Domingo a cursory visit. Yes, Santo Domingo, like most capital cities, is hectic and noisy. But it also boasts a preserved history, from culturally unique to downright surprising. Im not afraid to admit that i like Santo Domingo, and up next ill show you why. This is raw travel Santo Domingo. . Travel. For some, its a luxurious escape. Or maybe, an adrenalinefilled adventure. But if youre like me, its a precious opportunity to discover and to give back. Its time to get real. Its time to get raw. Its time for raw travel. The Dominican Republic, or dr as many call it, has no shortage of quaint, quiet little beach towns where you can chill. 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