Jason Todd Ready

Case record: Jason Todd Ready

Jason Todd “J.T.” Ready (February 17, 1973 – May 2, 2012) was an American Marine who received a bad conduct discharge. He founded and led a border militia group and was a former member of the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement. He sought elected office as sheriff of Pinal County, Arizona.

At his home in Gilbert, Arizona on May 2, 2012, Ready shot and killed his girlfriend, her daughter and granddaughter, the daughter’s fiance, and himself.

Background

Early life and education

Ready attended Mulberry High School in Mulberry, Florida.

Military service and court-martial

Ready served in the U.S. Marine Corps and achieved the rank of lance corporal. He attended MCRD Parris Island and went to the School of Infantry in North Carolina. He was assigned to MCB Camp Pendleton with Reconnaissance Company and 1st LAR Bravo company.

He was booted out of Reconnaissance Company and eventually became a Scout for a LAV-25, with a M249 light machine gun as his main weapon. During a field exercise at Twentynine Palms Base, he arrived without his M249 and was punished by his platoon sergeant.

Because of his weight and a knee injury sustained from a PT football game, he did not serve aboard the USS Anchorage (LSD-36) when Bravo Company left with the 15th MEU in November 1995. In the fall of 1996, Ready began his first search for illegal immigrants on Camp Pendleton during weekends.

He frequented military stores in Oceanside, California buying military gear the USMC did not require him to have, such as rappel ropes. He enjoyed watching military movies such as Red Dawn, could sing “Ballad of the Green Berets” from memory, and enjoyed playing military cadences loudly on CD. He was a good swimmer and could hold his breath underwater for minutes at a time.

Ready was twice court-martialed during his service. The first resulted in a demotion and three months imprisonment. The second resulted in six months imprisonment and a Bad Conduct Discharge from the Corps in 1996. Convictions in the courts-martial included theft, assault, failure to follow orders, and unauthorized absence.

The revelation of this history caused Ready to be removed as the master of ceremonies for a Mesa, Arizona Veterans Day parade in 2006.

Vigilante and militia involvement

Ready was a founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps and the U.S. Border Guard, two armed vigilante groups that patrolled the Arizona/Mexico border searching for illegal immigrants.

At the time of his death Ready was under investigation by the FBI, who were looking into a potential domestic terrorism situation involving immigrants found shot to death in the desert.

He founded a private organization called the U.S. Border Guard in June 2010, which aimed to curtail illegal immigration by conducting armed patrols along the Arizona-Mexico border.

Associations and politics

Ready was politically active in anti-immigration causes. He served as president of the Mesa Community College Republican Party Club and as a precinct committeeman for the Maricopa County Republicans.

He unsuccessfully campaigned for a seat in the Arizona House of Representatives in 2004 and for a seat on the city council for Mesa, Arizona in 2006.

He put forth as his motto that:

“The Purity of the Aryan Race is the most precious resource Nature has to offer All of Humankind.”

The Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center described Ready as a neo-Nazi. Several Republicans attempted to have him expelled from his position in the party in Maricopa County due to his controversial views.

Before starting a campaign for Pinal County sheriff, he left the National Socialist Movement. Harry Hughes, a Movement member, served as his campaign chairman.

He ran for sheriff as a Democrat, citing the party’s past support for Jim Crow and Democratic politicians who had supported racial segregation, such as Robert Byrd and George Wallace, and stating his opinion that there was no difference between the Republican and Democratic parties. He said that in a non-partisan position such as Sheriff, political affiliation did not matter.

After Ready’s death, former Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce released a statement saying that he had previously rejected Ready due to his association with “despicable groups in society”, and had objected to Ready’s position in the Republican Party.

Personal life

Ready was married to Arline Lindgren until they divorced in 2003.

Ready was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 2003 and ordained as an elder by politician Russell Pearce. In December 2010 a fellow church member described him as “no longer active” and Ready described himself as a “recovering Mormon.”

Prior to moving in with Mederos, he worked at an Autozone auto parts store and was fired.

The offence

Gilbert shooting (May 2, 2012)

On May 2, 2012, Ready entered his home in Gilbert, Arizona and fatally shot his girlfriend, her daughter, her granddaughter, the daughter’s fiance, and himself.

A 9-1-1 call made from the house referred to an argument before the call was interrupted by gunfire. A teenager in the house at the time was in her bedroom and heard an argument, but survived the incident without being shot.

The shootings occurred sometime after 1 p.m. in a residential area in the 500 block of West Tumbleweed Road, near Warner and Cooper roads. Police tape cordoned off three separate areas of Tumbleweed Road.

A local police spokesman said this shooting was believed to have started as a domestic dispute, and no specific motive had been revealed. Alongside the local police, the incident and premises were also being investigated by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the FBI and the ATF. Firearms and six grenades were found inside the home.

The Gilbert Fire Department’s hazmat team checked two 55-gallon drums found on the property and determined they did not represent an immediate threat. The bomb squad encountered munitions in the house, and a decision was made to bring in federal agents to remove them and treat them as evidence.

Mesquite Junior High School and nearby Gilbert Elementary School were placed on “modified lockdown” status—meaning classes went on as normal, but students were not allowed to leave and no one was allowed to enter the building—until 2 p.m.

The youngest victim was taken from the scene to Maricopa Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

“There were signs of life, that's why we transported her,”
Sgt. Bill Balafas said.

“This is a domestic situation. We do have a witness that our investigators are interviewing.”

911 call details (released calls)

In one of the 911 calls, Ready’s girlfriend was heard saying in a raised voice: “Oh my God. He's got a gun. No!” before the sounds of two shots.

In another call, a sobbing young woman told a 911 dispatcher that “my mom and my niece and my sister are all on the floor. They're hurt pretty bad.”

When asked about the shooter, the woman said: “It's my mom's boyfriend, JT Ready.”

A 19-year-old daughter of Lisa Mederos, Brittany, identified herself to the dispatcher in a 911 call and said she heard Ready and her mother “fighting and screaming and I was in my room under a bed... I come out and they're all on the floor and there's blood.”

A neighbor was heard on another 911 call saying he “heard about six shots” and saw the bodies of two men with “blood coming from their head” outside the home. The neighbor added that he had just moved in next door to Ready and only knew his first name and thought he was a U.S. Border Patrol agent.

Investigation

Investigators and inter-agency response

The incident was investigated by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the FBI and the ATF. A profile of Ready by the Southern Poverty Law Center said he had attended neo-Nazi gatherings in Nebraska and Phoenix and railed against Jews and “Negroid immigration” in white nationalist online forums.

The FBI was already conducting a domestic terrorism investigation of Ready at the time of the shootings. The FBI’s investigation was said to have dated to when Ready was a member of the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement and continued into his participation with the border group.

Search warrant affidavits obtained by The Arizona Republic stated federal agents seized numerous computers and munitions from the Gilbert home where Ready lived and died in an apparent murder-suicide. The warrants implied weapons seized at the murder scene were stolen from the U.S. military.

Federal agents seized two computer towers and two laptop computers, correspondence, cellphones, police and Nazi uniforms, white-supremacist propaganda and bank statements. Agents seized two assault-style rifles and multiple rounds of ammunition.

The reporting FBI agent focused on “approximately two dozen military ordnance/40 millimeter grenades” loaded with explosives, tear gas, buckshot and smoke.

Firearms, grenades and explosives

Officers recovered two handguns and a shotgun from the scene. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said six grenades were also retrieved from the house by a bomb disposal unit from Luke Air Force base, near Phoenix.

“The reason we contacted them is because it is military ordnance,”
ATF agent Tom Mangan told Reuters.

“He said the explosives were live, and investigators were tracing the serial numbers on them to determine their provenance.”

A profile said Ready advocated deadly force to stop Mexicans from crossing into the United States illegally and favored laying a minefield along the U.S. border.

Arrest

No arrest was described.

Trial

No trial was described.

Sentencing

No sentencing was described.

Appeals

No appeals were described.

Outcome

Ready died from a self-inflicted gunshot on May 2, 2012, the same day as the Gilbert shootings.

People involved and victims

Jason Todd “J.T.” Ready

• Aged 39 at the time of the shootings.
• A Marine with a bad conduct discharge.
• Founder and leader of the U.S. Border Guard and Minuteman Civil Defense Corps.
• Former member of the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement.

Victims and other persons named

• Lisa Mederos, age 47 (Ready’s girlfriend). She was found dead inside the home and was believed to have made the first 9-1-1 call.
• Amber Mederos, 23 (Lisa’s daughter with Hugo Mederos). She was found dead inside the home.
• Lilly Mederos, 15 months (Amber’s daughter). She was initially found alive inside the home but was pronounced dead at the hospital.
• Jim Hiott, 24 (Amber’s boyfriend; an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan). He was found dead outside the home near Ready’s body.
• Brittany, Lisa’s 19-year-old daughter, survived the incident and identified herself to the dispatcher during a 911 call.
• Hugo Mederos, ex-husband of Lisa, spoke to reporters.
• Russell Pearce, who released a statement after Ready’s death. He had ordained Ready as an elder.
• Bill Balafas, Gilbert police spokesman/Sgt. Bill Balafas, who provided statements about the domestic dispute and signs of life.
• DeAnn Rawson, 38, who lived in the Lago Estancia neighborhood and spoke to reporters.
• Gary Davis, neighborhood resident who spoke to reporters.
• Jesse Sanger, who supervised the first officers on the scene.
• Tom Mangan, ATF agent who spoke about grenades.
• Heidi Beirich, director of the intelligence project for the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama, who commented on the aftermath.

Aftermath

Reporting and public response

The Arizona Republic identified the shooter as Jason “J.T.” Ready and described him as a reputed neo-Nazi who had launched a militia movement to patrol the Arizona desert to hunt for illegal immigrants and drug smugglers.

Reuters described Ready as a neo-Nazi border militia founder believed to have shot and killed four people before turning a gun on himself following a domestic dispute at a home in a Phoenix suburb.

Associated Press described Ready as the leader of a group of armed civilians that patrolled Arizona’s desert near the Mexican border for illegal immigrants and drug smugglers, and it reported the FBI investigation into Ready as a domestic terrorism investigation.

Pre-existing domestic-violence reporting by Lisa Mederos

Family members said Lisa attempted to get Ready out of her house and went to Gilbert police headquarters.

On Feb. 28, 2012, Lisa told an officer she wanted to end her relationship with her boyfriend and asked how she could get Ready out of her house. She told police about two domestic-violence incidents:

• She said they argued about their relationship; after she poked Ready in the cheek, he sat on top of her and choked her.
• She said that during an argument in bed, he had covered her mouth and nose.

A police officer went to Lisa’s house on Feb. 29 and again on March 5 but found no one home. An officer found Lisa and Ready at home on March 7. Lisa told the officer she was fine. Ready refused to talk about Lisa’s reports of domestic violence. It was nearly two months before May 2.

Comments and quotes from family and others

Brian Holmquist said:

“I would have jumped on a plane and handcuffed my sister and her kids and brought them back here,”

and he said:

“If we had Googled his name, I would have been out there the next day.”

In a statement about being rejected, Russell Pearce had said he had previously rejected Ready due to his association with “despicable groups in society”.

Sgt. Jesse Sanger said:

“all of the victims except Jim had contact wounds, from the gun barrel being pressed against their heads.”

Heidi Beirich said:

“Basically, this movement collapsed,”

and she said:

“I think it had a devastating effect.”

Hugo Mederos said:

“She was a fantastic mother and a fantastic wife,”

and he said:

“I was the one who betrayed her.”

He also said:

“She had in her mind that no one would love her,”

and:

“I hurt her so bad, she was very vulnerable. She didn't deserve me and she didn't deserve that animal.”

Hugo Mederos also said that he did not want his family seen as racists and said:

“I don't want my family seen as racists like that animal,”

and:

“I don't want my family seen as racists like that animal,” he said.

Burial, memorials and community support

The funeral was private. Hundreds of people showed up at a candlelight vigil.

Hugo Mederos took Lisa’s antiques to Merchant Square Antique Marketplace in Chandler, where they were sold in a silent auction. The store donated $8,000 to the family for funeral expenses and other costs. The manager, Brenda Montemorra, said:

“It was such a tragic event. She was a nice lady. I felt for the family,”

and:

“It was the least we could do.”

Domestic violence fatality review

The Mederos case was described as under review by the East Valley Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team, which examines one fatal case each year to offer recommendations on how laws or procedures might be changed to prevent future deaths.

Rolf Holmquist said:

“We are hanging onto the hope that we can make something good out of this,''

Details of the events described by investigators and family

Family members reported Ready lived in the house with Lisa and her younger daughter, Brittany. Amber had moved to an apartment in Mesa with her 15-month-old, Lilly, and was engaged to Jim Hiott.

Police reports later indicated Ready and Lisa argued the night of May 1 and again about noon the next day. Ready accused Lisa of breaking something he owned.

Amber planned to pick up Brittany for lunch at Joe’s BBQ in downtown Gilbert. Amber arrived with Lilly and Jim, and then the gunshots started. Police believed Ready shot either Amber or Lilly first, then the other, in quick succession near the front door.

Lisa called police. Investigators concluded she was on the phone when she edged around a corner and came into Ready’s view. He shot her in the face and, after she fell, again in the back of the head.

Jim was talking on his phone outside. Police believed he may have walked toward the front door after hearing the gunshots but turned to run when he saw Ready emerge armed. Ready fired three times; the third bullet hit Jim in the back of the head. Jim fell still clutching his phone in his left hand. Ready then raised the handgun to his own head just above his right ear and fired.

Investigators found other guns in the house, plus three .223 caliber rifles and a .22 in the garage, and they removed a Nazi flag, uniforms and military grenades.

About 1 p.m., police kicked in a bedroom door and found 19-year-old Brittany crying and still on the phone with a 911 operator. In the backyard, a German shepherd barked. Police led Brittany from the bedroom through the house toward the front door. She stepped over her mother and her sister.

Personal developments after the shooting

Family members described moving through shock to anger to acceptance after the shootings. Brian Holmquist was seeing a psychiatrist and Brittany was seeing a counselor.

Brian described his loss at a church service in Florida that raised money for a domestic-violence prevention program. Jeanne Holmquist read “For the Love of Lilly,” a poem she wrote shortly after the slayings. Brian and Jeanne hoped to volunteer in a domestic-violence program when emotionally ready.

Hugo Mederos described his losses of an ex-wife, a daughter and a granddaughter. He also described being the one who left, and he had a different perspective on the situation.

Hugo said Lisa had once collected early American antiques and furniture and that she had kept her house while he moved away.

After the shooting, Hugo took Brittany to live with him and sold the Gilbert house in January.

Brittany made frequent trips back to Arizona to see friends, was leaning toward staying in Arizona and enrolling at Arizona State University, and Hugo was glad to see her focusing on the future but would have preferred more time with her.

Hugo said:

“I thank God for her,”

and:

“I pray for her every day.”

Other details

Additional statements attributed to Ready

Ready’s final posting on Facebook on Tuesday evening read:

“Time to get the drama out of [my] life and make a better life for me my daughter and my love.”

A posting on his group’s website quoted Ready as saying:

“We are under attack at this very moment but not by invading troops [yet] or communistic threat. … What or who is it you ask? Just look around your neighborhoods and your schools. Look at the violence on T.V. Look at the border,” Ready said in a posting on his group’s website.

A blog posting on the U.S. Border Guard website quoted Ready as writing:

“Some of us have our fingers on the triggers; Soap box. Ballot Box. Ammo box. These were given to us by our founding fathers and mothers,” Ready wrote.

and it continued:

“We have just about depleted the first two options.”

Threat and weapons content described from seized materials

Reporting described computers, correspondence, cellphones, police and Nazi uniforms, white-supremacist propaganda, and bank statements were seized.