April 17, 2008, 6:49PM
Admitted drug smuggler pleads guilty


By ALICIA A. CALDWELL Associated Press Writer
© 2008 The Associated Press

EL PASO, Texas — A man shot by a pair of former U.S. Border Patrol agents has pleaded guilty to federal drug smuggling charges, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Thursday.

Osvaldo Aldrete Davila, 27, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, and one count each of conspiracy to import a controlled substance and conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

Aldrete, who was shot by former agents Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos in February 2005 during a failed marijuana smuggling effort, was indicted in 2007 on charges that he smuggled drugs again several months after being shot.

Aldrete, who was granted immunity and testified against the agents in 2006, admitted his role in the initial smuggling attempt of about 700 pounds of marijuana.

During the former agents' 2006 trial, jurors did not hear testimony about the later smuggling operations, which occurred in September and October 2005.

Lawyers for Ramos and Compean raised the issue during an appeal at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans in December.

Ramos and Compean were each sentenced to more than a decade in prison for shooting Aldrete and lying about it. Both men have been in prison since January 2007.

The case against the agents sparked widespread outrage among conservatives who argued that U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton should have focused the resources of his office on Aldrete and not the agents.

In a written statement released by Sutton's office, he once again defended his decision to prosecute Ramos and Compean.

"I have repeatedly said that if we obtained sufficient competent and admissible evidence against Aldrete, we would prosecute him. I fulfilled that promise when the DEA arrested Aldrete on an indictment charging him with federal drug smuggling," Sutton said the in the statement. "Today, Aldrete pleaded guilty to that indictment. Just as Aldrete's illegal conduct did not excuse the crimes committed by Compean and Ramos, likewise, their crimes did not excuse his.

Ramos' father-in-law, Joe Loya, said the guilty plea was welcome news and a development that he believes solidifies supporters' beliefs that the case against the former agents was flawed.

"It's another step into getting our agents vindicated, out of prison certainly," said Loya, who attended Aldrete's afternoon hearing. "I don't know what kind of impact it's going to have on the appeal, but it proves that the government lied to the jury."

Loya said prosecutors lied when they didn't tell jurors about suspicions of Aldrete's involvement in other smuggling attempts.

Supporters of the agents, including a host of members of Congress, have called on President Bush to pardon the agents or at least commute their sentences.

Thursday U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, renewed that call.

"In my view, this guilty plea opens even more questions than it answers," Cornyn said in a statement. "As I said last year, it is incomprehensible to me that an illegal alien drug smuggler was allowed to violate his immunity agreement, perjure himself and be granted a series of unlimited visas to roam free in our country while two border patrol agents were given excessive prison sentences.

"It is well past time for the President to do the right thing and commute their sentences."

Aldrete, who has been jailed since his arrest in October, is scheduled to be sentenced July 16. He faces up to 40 years in prison and a $2 million fine.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5710593.html