Man arrested in New Mexico had Klamath County conviction

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – The man who belonged to a group that was holding immigrants at gunpoint near the U.S.-Mexico border and was arrested on a firearms offense had been found guilty of the same crime in Klamath County 12 years ago.

But Larry Mitchell Hopkins fled without serving his sentence.

Klamath County court records show an arrest order for Hopkins was issued in January 2007 for after he failed to meet with his parole officer. Hopkins had been given probation the previous year after pleading guilty to two charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and impersonating a peace officer.

Police said Hopkins, convicted in 1986 in Michigan of a felony, had shown two firearms and a badge that said “special agent” to a group of juveniles.

After Hopkins appeared for only his initial parole meeting but never returned, his parole officer recommended a 20-month prison sentence. An arrest warrant was issued, but last year a judge dropped the case because the parole violation was “too old to effectively prosecute.”