Arizona immigration law tints neighborhood dispute
The fatal shooting of a Phoenix resident becomes a hate-crime case even as police and activists downplay the incident's racial overtones.
 Antonio and Emilio Varela, right, believe their brother's death was racially motivated. The family held news conferences demanding that hate-crime allegations be added to the case. (Laura Segall, For The Times / June 28, 2010) |
Reporting from Phoenix —
Had Arizona's governor not just signed the toughest law against illegal immigrants in the nation, the killing of Juan Varela probably would have been written off as just a tragic neighborhood dispute.The 44-year-old U.S. citizen was watering chile plants in his front yard when a neighbor confronted him and shot him to death, according to police documents.
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