El Paso Police officer Juan Escontrias - 20s
El Paso Police officer Juan Escontrias - 20s
Throughout the 1920s, El Paso's lawmen were frequently the subject of newspaper coverage. And there was plenty to write about. Given the city's proximity to the border and to the red light district of Ciudad Juarez, El Paso was a sort of "ground zero" in the so-called Liquor War on the Rio Grande. From the beginning of statewide prohibition, and through the 20s and 30, El Paso was a battleground for both local and federal officers, charged with enforcing both the Volstead Act and the Harrison Narcotics Act. One of the soldiers in that war was Juan Escontrias, a native of the area who was born in 1891. During his career as a lawman, Escontrias served as an El Paso County Deputy Sheriff, police officer, constable and two separate tenures as a city detective. In the early 1920s, Escontrias' partner was none other than legendary lawman Tom Threepersons, with whom he had a number of fights with criminals. Despite his reputation as a hard hitting enforcer of the law, Escontrias also developed a dubious reputation for being a little too hard hitting. His killing of one suspect in 1922 led to his being tried for murder, and throughout the 1920s there were occasional accusations of excessive force. Nevertheless, Escontrias remained a well liked figure in area law enforcement until he killed a reputedly corrupt Mexican narcotics agent named Ignacio Dosamantes in front of an El Paso police station. The Dosamantes case would be Escontrias' undoing, and the veteran officer was convicted of murder and sent to Huntsville, where he would serve for five years before being granted a pardon. Following his release, the once heralded lawman virtually faded from the public eye.
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