CBP.gov
Murrieta, Calif. - In a historic event on Friday, the Murrieta Border Patrol Station was officially renamed in honor of two Border Patrol Inspectors who were killed in the line of duty nearly 41 years ago.
A plaque honors Theodore L. Newton, Jr. and George F. Azrak at the Murrieta Station, now renamed the Theodore L. Newton, Jr. and George F. Azrak Border Patrol Station.
The station is now officially designated as the Theodore L. Newton, Jr. and George F. Azrak Border Patrol Station, which is the first and only Border Patrol Station in the county to be named in someone's honor.
The dedication ceremony was made possible by HR 2728, which was legislation passed by Congress on June 24, 2008 and later signed into law by former President Bush on July 15, 2008. Congressman Darrell Issa, who attended Friday's dedication ceremony, was the sponsor of the bill.
Last month, the Murrieta City Council also voted to rename a road adjacent to the station as Newton-Azrak Street.
On June 17, 1967, Border Patrol Inspectors Theodore L. Newton, Jr. and George F. Azrak were working at a checkpoint on Highway 79 in Oak Grove, Calif., when they were kidnapped and brutally murdered by a group of drug smugglers.
Margaret Day, the daughter of Theodore Newton, spoke at the dedication ceremony. She said, "We are very blessed that this many years have gone by and they are not forgotten."
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.
