Thread: No charges against Border Patrol agent in teen's death

No charges against Border Patrol agent in teen's death

Melanie Eversley, USA TODAY 9:30 p.m. EDT August 9, 2013

The Justice Department announced Friday night it will not pursue civil rights charges against a U.S. Border Patrol agent involved in the 2011 fatal shooting of a 17-year-old Mexican national.


In this April 22, 2010, file photo, a Customs and Border Patrol agent patrols along the international border after sunset in Nogales, Ariz.(Photo: By Matt York, AP)

Story Highlights

• U.S. government says teen was throwing rocks at Border Patrol when shot
• Initially, a Mexican official said the teen died from hitting his head in a fall
• The American Civil Liberties Union has said the incident illustrates excessive force

The Justice Department announced Friday night it will not pursue civil rights charges against a U.S. Border Patrol agent involved in the 2011 fatal shooting of a 17-year-old Mexican national.

In a statement released Friday, the agency said it does not have the jurisdiction to pursue such charges because the victim , Ramses Barron-Torres, was on the Mexico side of the border and would need to be in the United States for the Justice Department to proceed.

"While the loss of life is regrettable, the facts of this matter do not support a federal prosecution," the statement read. "Accordingly, the investigation into this incident has been closed."

Ramses Barron-Torres died Jan. 5, 2011, at about 3 a.m. at the international border fence in Nogales, Ariz. , as Border Patrol agents responded to reports that someone was moving narcotics across the border.

Initially, the details were in dispute. A Mexican official originally said Barron-Torres died after falling and hitting his head, but state police in Sonora, Mexico, said companions of the teen claimed he was shot by a Border Patrol agent.

According to the Justice Department statement released Friday, Barron-Torres and three other individuals threw rocks at the agents from the Mexico side of the fence and a fifth individual on the U.S. side carried a bundle suspected to be narcotics.

The agents ordered the group to stop throwing rocks and Barron-Torres continued, according to the statement. An agent then fatally shot the teen, the statement read.

Previously published reports indicate that the teen's companions, who left him outside of a hospital emergency room, told hospital guards on the night of the incident that Barron-Torres was climbing a border wall to enter the United States when he was shot.

The American Civil Liberties Union cited the incident as an example of excessive force used at the U.S.-Mexico border.

According to the Justice Department statement released Friday, a team of federal prosecutors reviewed hundreds of pages of documented evidence, along with video, physical evidence, and accounts by law enforcement and civilian witnesses generated by investigators with the Office of the Inspector General, Department of Homeland Security, as well as the FBI.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/08/09/border-patrol-shooting/2637901/

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Realtime Coverage

'Not on our soil': US Border Patrol agent won't be charged over killing Mexican ... RT - ‎1 hour ago‎ US authorities will not bring charges against a US Border Patrol agent who shot dead a Mexican youth suspected of drug trafficking right through the fence insulating the US from Mexico as the Justice Department "lacks jurisdiction" to do it. US federal ... Telegraph.co.uk ABC15.com (KNXV-TV) PRI's The World US Rep. Leonard Lance visits US-Mexico border, addresses concerns Lehighvalleylive.com - ‎42 minutes ago‎ Border Patrol seizes 6.5 tons of marijuana and bust 3 stash houses KVEO-TV - ‎1 hour ago‎ No charges for US border agent who shot Mexican teenager Telegraph.co.uk - ‎8 hours ago‎ Focus must be Border Security and Economic Security Arizona Daily Star - ‎9 hours ago‎ USDOJ: Federal Officials Close the Investigation into the Death of Carlos Lamadrid 7thSpace Interactive (press release) - ‎9 hours ago‎ Show recently hidden articles Your preferred source USDOJ: Federal Officials Close the Investigation into the Death of Ramses ... 7thSpace Interactive (press release) - ‎9 hours ago‎ The Justice Department will not pursue federal criminal civil rights or other federal criminal charges against the United States Border Patrol (USBP) agent involved in the shooting incident that resulted in the death of Ramses Barron-Torres, the department ... See all 22 articles »

Feds won’t pursue charges in 2 Arizona border shootings
Posted: Saturday, August 10, 2013 10:42 am

PHOENIX (AP) — Federal authorities announced Friday that they won’t pursue criminal charges against U.S. Border Patrol agents involved in separate 2011 fatal shootings in southern Arizona.

Justice Department officials in Washington said the decisions were “based on the facts developed during an independent and comprehensive investigation” into both incidents that involved rocks being thrown at agents at the international boundary fence separating the United States from Mexico.



Officials said in a statement that the loss of life “is regrettable,” but the facts don’t support federal prosecution for criminal civil rights or other federal criminal charges in either case.

Carlos LaMadrid, 19, was shot in Douglas on March 21, 2011, and died hours later at a hospital during surgery.

Douglas police said LaMadrid was seen loading bundles of drugs into a vehicle and failed to stop when pursued by officers.

LaMadrid jumped out of the vehicle, ran to the international fence and climbed a ladder to the top where police said another man was throwing brick-sized rocks at the Border Patrol agent.

Federal authorities said their investigation showed LaMadrid “was in the line of fire between the rock-throwing male and the agent” when he was struck by four bullets.”

Investigators recovered several large rocks at the scene, including one that shattered the windshield of the vehicle the agent was ducking behind when he fired five shots. They ruled that the agent acted in self-defense.

In the other incident, 17-year-old Ramses Barron-Torres was fatally shot at the international boundary fence in Nogales in the early-morning hours of Jan. 5, 2011.

Border agents responded to reports that drugs were being moved across the border.

They said Barron-Torres and three other people on the Mexico side of the border fence were throwing rocks at two agents while another person was carrying a bundle of suspected narcotics.

The agents told the people in Spanish to stop throwing rocks, but said Barron-Torres continued to do so, and he was shot once.

Justice Department officials said there was insufficient evidence to disprove the agent’s claim that he shot Barron-Torres in self-defense.

They also said the teen was on the Mexico side of the border when he was shot so they lack jurisdiction to prosecute the agent under the federal criminal civil rights statute.

There was no immediate response Friday from either of the victims’ families.
http://www.trivalleycentral.com/casa_grande_dispatch/arizona_news/feds-won-t-pursue-charges-in-arizona-border-shootings/article_2e53e424-01e4-11e3-b945-0019bb2963f4.html