Casey James Nethercott, a member of the border vigilante group Ranch Rescue, was sentenced to five years in prison for illegal possession of a firearm.

Ranch Rescue, based in Arlington, Texas, is an anti-immigration extremist group that formed in June 2000.  It organizes armed vigilante "patrols" along the Mexican border.  Ranch Rescue enjoys wide support among extremist groups across the county and members of militia groups often take part in its "patrols."

The sentence, handed down in Hebbronville District Court in Texas on August 17, 2004, stems from an incident in which Nethercott was accused of detaining and assaulting a pair of Salvadorans and beating one with a pistol. 

Nethercott was arrested in Douglas, Arizona, several months after the incident, which occurred in March 2003 during Ranch Rescue's "Operation Falcon" on a 5000-acre ranch near Hebbronville.

The jury that convicted Nethercott on the weapons violation was unable to reach agreement on the assault charge and a retrial is set for August 30. 

Nethercott, a former bounty hunter, previously served time for falsely detaining and assaulting the son of a Riverside police chief in California.