Thread: Murder trial begins in AZ for illegal immigrant shooting

Murder trial begins in AZ for illegal immigrant shooting
Reported by: Associated Press
Last Update: 2/23 1:42 pm

A murder trial tinged with international controversy that begins this week will determine whether a U.S. Border Patrol agent was justified in shooting an illegal immigrant near the Mexican border.

Jury selection will start Tuesday in federal court in the case of Agent Nicholas Corbett, who is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and negligent homicide in the Jan. 12, 2007, death of Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera.

Corbett's lawyers contend that he acted lawfully in self-defense after being threatened; prosecutors contend the shooting wasn't justified.

The case stands in contrast to that of El Paso, Texas, agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean, who are serving prison terms after a jury convicted them in 2006 of assault, obstruction of justice and civil rights violations in the wounding of a drug smuggler.

Border Patrol brass in El Paso supported that prosecution, after an internal investigation determined the agents had acted inappropriately.

Robert Gilbert, who became chief of the El Paso sector a few months before the agents' federal trial, said after the case that Ramos' and Compean's actions would not overshadow the agency's "long-standing tradition of honor, service and integrity to the country."

Now the Border Patrol's Tucson sector chief, Gilbert has attended Corbett's court proceedings in a show of support for the agent.

Corbett, 40, an agent since 2003, encountered Dominguez, 22, of Puebla, Mexico, his two brothers and one of the brother's girlfriend as they tried to return to Mexico to evade capture.

Corbett cut off their exit with his SUV, then jumped out to take them into custody.

The witnesses told investigators and later testified at an August preliminary hearing that Francisco Dominguez had started kneeling when Corbett came up behind him, hit him on the side of his neck and pushed him downward. They said the gun was in Corbett's left hand, draped over Dominguez's left shoulder, and the weapon discharged.

Corbett declined to talk to investigators but told other Border Patrol agents, including a supervisor, that he had shot after Dominguez raised his arm to throw a rock at him.

The witnesses insisted Dominguez was shot from behind without provocation.

In deciding to bring charges last spring, prosecutors concluded that autopsy and forensic results supported the witnesses' testimony, with the bullet fired between 3 inches and 2 1/2 feet from Dominguez.

The Arizona shooting created some stir on Web blogs but nothing approaching the intensity over the Texas case, which caused a furor among conservative lawmakers, on Internet blogs and talk radio, including calls for presidential pardons.

The Dominguez shooting elicited protests from Mexican President Felipe Calderon and a diplomatic note demanding an exhaustive investigation, as well as from human rights activists. Foes of illegal immigration counterattacked.

A Border Patrol agents' union official leveled accusations of a tainted investigation, contending that Mexican consular officials received premature access to interview witnesses to the shooting before all had been interviewed by case investigators.

The consulate and the Cochise County Sheriff's Department denied the charges.

"We're prepared to present our evidence to the jury and we will live with whatever verdict they return. That's all you can do in a case like this," said prosecutor Ed Rheinheimer.

Picking a jury, he said, "will be very important to eliminate the possibility of having a juror who has an agenda from either side."

"We're ready for the trial," added special prosecutor Grant Woods, a former Arizona attorney general. "We look forward to the jury hearing all the evidence in this case."

Defense lawyers did not return phone several calls seeking comment.

The Border Action Network, a southern Arizona human rights organization, plans a weeklong memorial outside the federal courthouse "to demand policy changes to prevent further death and injustice along the border."

"In terms of the bigger picture, we see this as another example of the fact that the current anti-immigrant climate and focus on stepped-up enforcement inevitably results in these types of abuses," said Alessandra Soler Meetze (pronounced Metz), executive director of the ACLU of Arizona.

Chris Simcox, founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, whose members report illegal entries to the Border Patrol along sections of the Mexican border, said his group hopes "all law enforcement agents get a fair trial."

"It's a very unfortunate situation for this young man and certainly for the family who lost their loved one," he said. "Hopefully, at least the Border Patrol union and the Border Patrol bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., are going to make sure that they provide the best defense that they can."

Jurors would be allowed to convict on only one charge. Because a gun was used, the state also has alleged the dangerous nature of the offense, and a conviction would require mandatory prison time.

A second-degree murder conviction would draw a sentence of 10 to 22 years, manslaughter seven to 21 years and negligent homicide four to eight years.

www.abc15.com

This Poor man is so Screwed... a prosecutor just like Johnny Sutton, the Mexican Government Influence and the ACLU..

too beat it all to Hell... King George and his WIDE OPEN BORDER POLICY that threatens EVERY SINGLE American Citizen

Added to Home PAge
http://www.alipac.us/article2983.html

Originally Posted by AirborneSapper7

This Poor man is so Screwed... a prosecutor just like Johnny Sutton, the Mexican Government Influence and the ACLU..

too beat it all to Hell... King George and his WIDE OPEN BORDER POLICY that threatens EVERY SINGLE American Citizen

As I was reading it I was thinking he must be a Johnny Sutton trainee.

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U.S. border agent murder trial begins
Tue Feb 26, 2008 1:36pm EST
PHOENIX (Reuters) - A U.S. Border Patrol agent went on trial on Tuesday in the killing of a Mexican man attempting to cross illegally into Arizona, a case closely watched by pro- and anti-illegal immigrant groups.

Jury selection began in U.S. District Court in Tucson, Ariz., to decide the fate of agent Nicholas Corbett, who faces second-degree murder charges for killing Francisco Dominguez Rivera in the southern Arizona desert.

Corbett, who has claimed through attorneys that he shot in self defense, is also charged with manslaughter and negligent homicide in connection with the January 12, 2007, incident.

Dominguez Rivera, 22, was fatally shot after crossing an isolated stretch of the border between Naco and Douglas with his two brothers and the girl friend of one of the brothers. Corbett said he shot after being threatened with a rock.

The incident drew an immediate rebuke by the Mexican government, with that country's Foreign Ministry complaining of "disproportionate violence." Diplomats at the Mexican Embassy in Washington called for a thorough investigation.

Jennifer Allen, executive director of Tucson-based Border Action Network, said the human-rights group plans a weeklong vigil in front of the courthouse.

"We'll be there to send a message affirming that no one is above the law and calling for justice in this case," said Allen, who added that the case underscores the need for better training for agents and oversight.

A Border Patrol spokesman in Tucson had no immediate comment.

A top border patrol union official said the case has been overblown by prosecutors and never should have reached trial. "We're hopeful that justice will prevail and he is found innocent of all charges," said T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council.

Two years ago, two Border Patrol agents in Texas were tried for shooting an unarmed Mexican drug smuggler in the buttocks in a case that drew widespread attention. Ignacio Ramos received 11 years and a day in prison and Jose Alonso Compean was sentenced to 12 years.

(Reporting by David Schwartz, writing by Tim Gaynor, editing by Jackie Frank)


© Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.

Reuters journalists are subject to the Reuters Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.


http://www.reuters.com/article/domestic ... 26?sp=true

HERE WE GO AGAIN!!

Testimony Begins in Border Agent's Trial
By ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN – 2 hours ago

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A U.S. Border Patrol agent on trial for murder was threatened with a rock when he fatally shot an illegal immigrant, his defense told a federal jury Wednesday, while a prosecutor claimed the man did not provoke the attack.

"The victim was surrendering, going down on his knees, was hit from behind ... and shot through the heart while surrendering," special prosecutor Grant Woods told jurors during opening statements.

Woods said that forensic and medical evidence, from ballistics information to the autopsy results, along with the witnesses' testimony and a Border Patrol video would prove that the killing was not justifiable.

Agent Nicholas Corbett is charged with second-degree murder, negligent homicide and manslaughter for the January 2007 shooting near Naco, Ariz. Jurors can convict on only one count.

The defense countered by telling the jury that Corbett was justified when he fired the fatal shot because 22-year-old Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera of Puebla, Mexico, was threatening to "crush his head with a rock."

Defense lawyer Sean Chapman said Dominguez was angry because he had been caught and Corbett was only doing as he was trained.

He also contended that three other migrants who plan to testify, including the victims' two brothers and the girlfriend of one, lied after being improperly influenced by the Mexican government.

The four migrants were making their way north from the Mexican border when Corbett sped up to them in a patrol vehicle and circled the group before jumping out to take them into custody.

After skidding to a stop, the agent jumped out and ran toward Dominguez, who was starting to kneel, his brother, Jorge Dominguez Rivera, 25, told the jury. He said his brother did not threaten the agent.

Corbett put his gun in his left hand and the weapon fired as he pushed Francisco Dominguez down. "The officer released him and took a step forward and my brother just held himself, said `Ah' and just moaned," then fell onto his back and went into convulsions, Jorge Dominguez said.

Agent Steve Berg testified he heard Corbett calling out for help on the radio and saying that a shooting had taken place. He said he reached the scene less than two minutes later.

There was no sign that the other migrants were angry. Corbett, he testified, appeared shocked and he later overheard him describing how he had been threatened with a rock before the shooting.

Woods suggested that Corbett covered up by lying about the circumstances of the shooting and alleging to other agents that he had been threatened.

The case is unusual because it is being tried in federal court by state prosecutors using Arizona law.

Conviction for second-degree murder could bring a sentence of 10 to 22 years, manslaughter seven to 21 years, negligent homicide four to eight years. A conviction also would bring mandatory prison time because the state has alleged the dangerous nature of the offense since a gun was used.

http://ap.google.com

Brother of man killed by Border Patrol agent cross-examined


ASSOCIATED PRESS

12:14 p.m. February 28, 2008

TUCSON, Ariz. – The brother of an illegal immigrant fatally shot by a U.S. Border Patrol agent on trial in Tucson says he doesn't know whether the agent hit his brother with his gun or hand just before the shooting.
Under cross-examination Thursday, 25-year-old Jorge Dominguez Rivera said his brother was about to surrender when agent Nicholas Corbett jumped from his vehicle after cutting off their group as they tried to get back to Mexico.

Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera of Puebla, Mexico, died in the January 2007 incident.
Defense lawyers contend Dominguez was threatening to crush Corbett's head with a rock and that the agent shot him in self-defense. Dominguez testified otherwise, saying there was no rock or provocation.

Corbett is charged with second-degree murder, negligent homicide and manslaughter in the shooting near Naco.

www.signonsandiego.com

Illegal is illegal not undocumented right, but murder trial. To me the poor man is innocent before proven guilty (if ever), so it should be self defense trial right now right? See how they like the lawful spin. My god these poor men are defending this country as much as are sons and daughters in Iraq and Afghanistan. Doesn’t it just make you sick on how fast our tax dollars are spent prosecuting are finest and protecting the attractors.
Why don’t we let there governments bring charges against them and let them pay for the trial expenses after all they are reasonable.

Arizona DPS Weapons Expert Presents Scenario On How Border Agent Could Have Shot Mexican National

Posted: Feb 29, 2008 05:24 PM PST


By Jim Becker, KOLD News 13 Reporter

A prosecution witness has presented jurors with a possible scenario on how Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Corbett could have shot and killed a 22-year-old Mexican national January 12, 2007.

Gustov 'Bud' Clark told jurors in federal court Friday about 'sympathetic squeeze', a law enforcement term.

In a nutshell, the Arizona DPS weapons expert said it means if a gun is held in one hand, and the other grabs something, you'll likely pull the trigger, as a reflex.

That would account for the quick turn of events, when witnesses testify Agent Corbett drove up to a group of illegal entrants, with his gun in hand.

Corbett claims 22-year-old Francisco Javier Dominguez threatened him with a rock.

Surveillance video, however, leaves much doubt as to how much time a hand to hand confrontation could have occurred.

Rene Dominguez, Francisco's brother, with him at the time of the shooting, and Sandra Guzman, girlfriend of George, the other brother, both testify that Corbett either grabbed or struck the 22-year-old on the back of the neck before shooting him at close range.

Clark also told jurors in video training sessions with Border Patrol agents, when a scenario is presented where a suspected illegal entrant is holding a rock, the agents in training backed up, each time.

Nothing in the surveillance video indicates Agent Corbett backed away from Dominguez.

The defense will begin presenting its case Monday, March 3 at 1:30 PM.

http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=7949194&nav=14RT