People in the county and the state are still reeling from the news that county rancher Robert Krentz, 58 years old, was shot and killed Saturday, allegedly by an illegal immigrant he had stopped to help.
 Sue and Robert Krentz prior to being honored by the Farming and Ranching Hall of Fame in 2008. |
In an interview Monday, fellow rancher Wendy Glenn, a member of the Malpai Borderlands Group, said she heard Krentz’s transmission to his brother Phil on Saturday. “He said he was assisting an illegal and asked his brother to call the Border Patrol. We find people out there all the time. We heard his brother try to call him back. There was no response from Rob.”
Glenn said the shooting was senseless. “Nothing was stolen — not the ATV, his rifle or his pistol. This is a horrible crime. The guy just killed him. It’s devastating for us. Everyone liked him.”
She praised Krentz’s environmental and conservation efforts to protect his family’s 100-year-old ranch. “He placed a conservation easement on his land so that it couldn’t be split up by developers. He believed in open space.”
He saw future problems when the government came in to build roads on the border and believed that only increased human and drug smuggler numbers, according to Glenn. He also saw the border fence more as a hindrance to wildlife than an impediment to undocumented workers or drug runners. “He didn’t want to see any more habitat destruction.”
Family friend Scott Arena liked Krentz and his commitment to conservation and good land practices. He also emphasized what a kind and caring person Krentz was — always willing to help those in need. That he was shot apparently trying to help one makes no sense to Arena.
“He was well-liked by everyone in the community. He was an unassuming man, straightforward, a humanitarian. This is such a tragedy,” added Arena. Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever also called Krentz his friend and said, “We can find no motive. This is a senseless killing. The community is deeply saddened. He was a good man and a good friend.”
Another rancher in the area, Roger Barnett, said, “Rob had a heart of gold. He always helped people.”Barnett, who has had more than one run-in with undocumented workers crossing his ranch, warned other ranchers to be vigilant.
“We can’t do what Rob did. There are laws and our government needs to enforce them. We need more Border Patrol agents and they need to be deployed deeper in the border areas.”
Arizona Farm Bureau President Kevin Rogers offered condolences and sympathy to the Krentz family and a smack-down to the federal government in a news release. If this tragedy is connected to smuggling from Mexico, he asks for swift action to make sure border violence does not escalate.
“The murder of Krentz this last weekend should not have happened and was preventable,” added Rogers. “Our members are the ones who see the illegal traffic, including drug and human cargo smuggling coming across their farms and ranches.”
Rogers explained that during the past several years, his members have reported coming face to face with alleged smugglers who are well-armed and menacing. “It is time for the federal government to fix this problem before another one of our ranch or farm families is injured or killed. No family should have to endure what the Krentz family is experiencing.”
County Supervisor Ann English commented, “I have known Rob and Susie since they were in high school and I was shocked and saddened by this brutal murder. They took such pride in being ranchers and raising their family in this lifestyle. They made a commitment to ranching early in life and have been very outspoken in letting the environmentalists and the federal agencies know they are conservation-oriented and just want to continue to ranch and be good stewards of their holdings. Rob was a gentle giant doing what he loved and wanting to be able to hand it to the next generation. It happened too soon.”
The Krentz family has been ranching in Cochise County for more than 100 years and in 2008, the family and ranch were inducted into the Arizona Farming and Ranching Hall of Fame. The family was also spotlighted in a story that appeared in Arizona Highways.
Rancher served two groups
Robert Krentz served as president of the Cochise-Graham Cattle-growers Association and was an active board member of the Malpai Borderlands Group.
Comments
D resident wrote on Apr 6, 2010 12:15 PM:
OLD TIMER wrote on Apr 5, 2010 9:42 AM:
Just one though that has been bothering me.
Maybe just maybe, one of the drug smugglers of the 290 lbs found on the Kretz ranch hide from the border patrol while they were rounding up the eight illegals. Rob came upon him/her the follwing day, and being that the smuggler was there to protect his/her shippment killed Rob in retaliation. "
D native wrote on Apr 1, 2010 10:45 AM:
coloradofarmer wrote on Apr 1, 2010 10:14 AM:
This, however, has really affected me... I am thinking of our country: the way we are in our communities, our value systems.
Mr Krentz sounds like a truly decent man.
I am so sorry for Mr. Krentz's family, his neighbors, and all who were able to benefit from his apparent kindness and his wisdom.
I feel terrible shame for anyone who would defend a person who would shoot a rancher and his dog, and leave them alone, in the dark, in the desert, to die. What kind of value system is that? What kind of community does such a person come from?
This has made me realize how much I "take for granted" the value systems of our communities in the U.S..I vow to be more aware and grateful.
(I also have promised myself to remember this when I vote in upcoming elections; it is easy to become complacent and unappreciative of what we have). "
Mrs. H. wrote on Mar 31, 2010 11:22 PM:
This is time-proven methodology to turn America into a third-world country; constantly increase illegal population of uneducated immigrants who have no desire to truly invest in our country=increase in poverty because the country can not support them=American citizens quality of life is eroded=more crime and violence=more wars.
The bottom line is that for a chosen corporate few,the fast approaching demise of our way of life is just big business. The corporations and private interests have not only mugged all of us for trillions of dollars but use said trillions to use the majority of us as cash cows and gunea pigs. they are, however very comfy.
We the people, MUST do what the politicians and corporations do; ignore the laws and protect our own country. The government encourages these illegal behaviors. We must defend ourselves against the onslaught of illegal And legal immigration gone amok. We should not be in fear in our own country! "
Sylvester ChĂvez wrote on Mar 31, 2010 10:42 PM:
Jake wrote on Mar 31, 2010 6:13 PM: