Migrant’s Killer Says He Feared for Life

A jury is expected to begin deliberations late this afternoon in the murder trial of Harold Ray Bassham, who testified Thursday that he shot an illegal immigrant to death because the man was threatening him with a rock.

Testifying on his own behalf Thursday, the 20-year-old San Ysidro man told a Superior Court jury that he initially chased Humberto Reyes Miranda on April 20 because the undocumented worker had thrown a brick at his dog while crossing through his back yard.

While conceding that he was upset with Reyes--who he identified as attacking his dog on a previous occasion--Bassham said he felt no ill will toward the illegal immigrants who often traversed his neighborhood.

“They didn’t bother me as they came through,” he said. “It was just a common thing that happened regularly.”

Bassham testified that he had no intention of killing Reyes. He said he only wanted “to stop him” because he feared for his life.

Under cross-examination by Deputy Dist. Atty. Jennifer Crossland, several discrepancies emerged between Bassham’s testimony and the version of events he gave police after his arrest.

The conflicts involved Reyes’ position at the time of the shooting, whether he had actually thrown any rocks and what caused Bassham to remove a .25-caliber semiautomatic handgun from a hidden compartment in his car.

Crossland suggested that Bassham created the story of his dog being attacked as “an excuse to hunt down that man and shoot him.”

Reyes had crossed the international border with five other people, including his best friend, several hours before being fatally shot. After crossing through several back yards, Reyes was confronted by Bassham as the migrant prepared to climb a large wall separating Valentino Street from Interstate 5.

Bassham was arrested the day after the shooting, and he voluntarily turned over the borrowed gun that was hidden in his vehicle.

Crossland was able to demonstrate that Bassham made false statements to investigators to cover up his actions.

“In fact, you told police a lot of lies that day,” she asked.

“Yes, I did,” Bassham replied.

If convicted of all charges, Bassham, who is being held in lieu of $500,000, faces a mandatory sentence of 30 years to life in state prison.