Thread: Suit dismissed in shooting death of Juárez boy by Border Pa

Suit dismissed in shooting death of Juárez boy by Border Patrol agent

by Armando V. Durazo \ El Paso Times
Posted: 08/18/2011 12:30:36 AM MDT

A $25 million suit against the United States filed by the family of a 15-year-old Juárez boy who was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent on the Rio Grande has been dismissed.

The suit, filed by the family of Sergio Adrian Hernandez Güereca, alleged that the Border Patrol agent "negligently, wrongfully and tortuously caused the death of Güereca" on June 7, 2010, near the Paso del Norte Bridge.

Senior U.S. District Judge David Briones dismissed the case Aug. 11, according to court documents. The ruling basically says that because the boy was shot in Mexico, there are no statutes that would apply in suing the U.S. government.

The shooting of the boy made international news and was videotaped on a cellphone on the Mexican side of the border.

According to the suit, Border Patrol Agent Jesus Mesa Jr. was patrolling on a bicycle when he came upon a group of boys who had been running up a concrete drainage culvert and touching the U.S. fence line.

When Mesa detained one of the boys, the rest of the group allegedly began to throw rocks at the agent. Mesa then raised his firearm and fired shots at the group, striking Hernández Güereca twice, once fatally in the head.

A Corpus Christi law firm, Hilliard Muñoz Gonzales LLP, represents Hernández Güereca's parents, Maria Guadalupe Güereca Betancour and Jesus Hernández. They could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Hernández's family and Mexican officials have demanded a full investigation.

His relatives have also said they want prosecutors in Mexico to file murder charges against the agent and seek his extradition.

But legal experts have said that, according to a treaty between the United States and Mexico, the agent's extradition is not likely, even if the Mexican government requests it.

A civil rights investigation by the FBI is continuing in the case.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder described Hernández's death as "extremely regrettable" during a news conference last year about an unrelated drug operation in Washington, D.C.

Holder, according to a transcript provided by the Department of Justice, said the FBI is investigating the shooting of the Juárez teenager.

"The matter is under investigation," Holder said. "And we'll have to determine exactly what happened, who, if anyone, should be held responsible, what the circumstances were for the shooting. And all that is just a part of this ongoing investigation."

The shooting was recorded in a cellphone video that was aired internationally by a Spanish-language television network.

The video shows an encounter that begins when a group of men try to cross a border fence near the railroad Black Bridge, just west of the Paso del Norte Bridge.

A Border Patrol agent is seen arriving on a bicycle, and rocks are allegedly being thrown at the agent while he tries to detain a man on the U.S. edge of the river. The agent is seen pointing his handgun, and three gunshots are heard.

Güereca can then be seen lying on the ground at the foot of the Black Bridge on the Mexican side of the mostly dry river. It is not shown if he was throwing rocks.

The teenager was buried in Juárez.

The boy's family described the him as a student who stayed out of trouble. But U.S. law enforcement officials said he had a criminal record of sneaking undocumented immigrants across the border.

Mexican President Felipe Calderón also called for a full investigation in the boy's death.

In a statement, Calderón said the teenager's case was especially serious because "Sergio Adrian Hernández was a minor, and he was killed by gunfire while on Mexican territory, in Ciudad Juárez."

Armando V. Durazo may be reached at adurazo@elpasotimes.com; 546-6123.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_18702055? ... ost_viewed

The boy's family described the him as a student who stayed out of trouble. (Yeah Right) But U.S. law enforcement officials said he had a criminal record of sneaking undocumented immigrants across the border. (far more likely, especially considering where he was and what he was doing)


He was a human, and possibly even a drug, smuggler. He assaulted the Border Patrol Agent with deadly force via large rocks, and the agent just defended himself...

Keep your narco-trafficking children in Mexico.

He was just out conducting the family business, when he got shot.

Dixie

Judge dismisses suit over Mexican teen shot by U.S. agent

By the CNN Wire Staff
August 18, 2011 2:49 p.m. EDT

(CNN) -- A lawsuit against the United States brought by the parents of a 15-year-old boy who was fatally shot by a border patrol agent has been dismissed, a U.S. district judge ruled. He also gave the parents a chance to amend their complaint.

The ruling, which came down August 11, was first reported by the El Paso Times on Thursday.

Sergio Adrian Hernandez Guereca of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, was fatally shot June 7, 2010.

Authorities said at the time that Hernandez was throwing rocks at the agent from the Mexican side of the border before the agent opened fire.

Guereca had a history of involvement with human smuggling and was on a list of repeat juvenile offenders, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said at the time of the shooting.

The officer, identified in court documents as Jesus Mesa Jr., received widespread condemnation from those who questioned his use of deadly force against the teen.

In January, Hernandez's parents, Jesus Hernandez and Maria Guadalupe Guereca, filed a lawsuit against the United States and every office involved with border protection.

The suit alleged that the government was liable for the teen's death under the Federal Tort Claim Act, the Alien Tort Statute and the U.S. Constitution.

The parents alleged that Mesa "maliciously, wrongfully, or otherwise tortuously shot" Hernandez and claimed negligence on part of the government.

Judge David Briones granted a government motion arguing that under law, federal employees have immunity from certain lawsuits in which case the United States takes the employee's place as a defendant. That would make the United States the only defendant in the case, and the court found that it did not have jurisdiction to carry the case forward because the harm happened on the Mexican side of the border.

However, in the same ruling, the judge gave the parents a 10-day period to amend their complaint.

The incident in question was partly caught on video.

The video showed part of the buildup before the incident, with several individuals running underneath the Puente Negro, a railroad span that connects the two countries.

In the distance, a U.S. Border Patrol officer on a bicycle can be seen making his way toward the area. Seconds later, the officer can be seen getting off the bicycle and approaching two of the four suspected Mexican nationals who had just crossed through an opening in the fence. One of the people is detained by the officer but never handcuffed and is dragged a short distance. This happened on the U.S. side of the border.

Moments later, the officer points what appears to be his firearm in the direction of a second person, standing about 60 feet away on the Mexican side of the border. The video shows the person running away.

Seconds later, two gunshots can be heard on the video. A third gunshot is heard in a different sequence of the tape. After the shooting, another person is seen running in the upper left side of screen, away from the incident.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/18/texas. ... .shooting/