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Sept. 14, 2006, 6:22AM
No charges for Texas man who fatally shot immigrant


Associated Press

LAREDO -- A hunter who fatally shot an undocumented immigrant on a South Texas ranch when he mistook the man for a hog should not be indicted, a Maverick County grand jury has decided.

The grand jury's no bill means Jaime Gonzalez will not be charged with manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide for the 2004 shooting near El Indio.

Gonzalez, of Eagle Pass, had told authorities he was shooting at a wild hog about 150 feet away when Celestino Lopez was struck in the abdomen.

Lopez, 36, and a group of immigrants had stopped and stood in the darkness after seeing a shadowy figure, according to court records. After the shooting, Gonzalez and two other hunters put Lopez in the back of a pickup and met an ambulance on the way to the hospital.

"I hoped there would've been more justice," said Anselmo Lopez, the victim's brother. "No one had the right to take his life."

Maverick County District Attorney Roberto Serna said he first presented the case to the grand jury last spring and didn't resume the presentation until Monday, when the jury declined to indict Gonzalez.

He said the grand jurors saw every report related to the case and interviewed live witnesses.

"They asked a lot of questions and were very attentive and tried to sort it out," Serna said. "I just presented the case to the grand jury and they decided what to do."

Celestino Lopez is survived by a wife and five children in the Mexican state of Guanajuato.

Lopez's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit last year against Gonzalez and the owner of the ranch, Eduardo Rodriguez, seeking $8 million in damages.

The case was settled out of court in November for $50,000. The settlement included legal costs for Lopez's widow and $1,800 for each of his five children. The children's money was put into U.S. savings accounts under their names, according to court records.