Thread: Agents question slow indictment of border suspect

Agents question slow indictment of border suspect


November 23, 2007


By Jerry Seper - Two U.S. Border Patrol agents were indicted two months after shooting a drug-smuggling suspect as he fled back into Mexico, but it took the Justice Department more than two years to bring charges against the suspect, and the head of the National Border Patrol Council wants to know why.

"The most logical explanation is that the prompt arrest of the drug smuggler would have destroyed U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton's chances of successfully prosecuting the two Border Patrol agents," said T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, which represents all 12,000 of the agency's nonsupervisory agents.

"No jury would have believed the perjured testimony of a professional drug smuggler," said Mr. Bonner, a 27-year Border Patrol veteran.

Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, 27, an admitted Mexican drug smuggler, was arrested Nov. 15 by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents at the Ysleta Port of Entry in El Paso, Texas, on a federal grand jury indictment charging him with conspiracy and possession with the intent to distribute marijuana.

The indictment said Mr. Aldrete-Davila conspired with Cipriano Ortiz Hernandez, beginning in June 2005, to import and distribute marijuana from Mexico in the U.S. If convicted at a trial that has not been scheduled, he faces up to 40 years in prison and a $2 million fine.

Mr. Aldrete-Davila first came to the attention of federal authorities after he was shot in the buttocks on Feb. 17, 2005, by Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean when he refused their orders to stop, abandoned a van containing 783 pounds of marijuana and ran to Mexico.

Ramos, 37, and Compean, 28, were indicted by a federal grand jury in El Paso on April 13, 2005. Convicted after a jury trial, they were sentenced in October 2006 to 11- and 12-year prison terms, respectively, for causing serious bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon, discharge of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence and for a civil rights violation.

After his successful escape, Mr. Aldrete-Davila was located in Mexico by a Homeland Security investigator and given immunity to testify against the two agents. The convictions are under appeal and a hearing is scheduled for next month.

DEA documents show Mr. Aldrete-Davila was suspected of stashing marijuana at a house in Texas eight months after the agents shot him. Witnesses identified him as the person who dropped off a van in Clint, Texas, in October 2005 that contained 752 pounds of marijuana.

A Nov. 16, 2005, DEA report said Mr. Ortiz Hernandez, the home's owner, identified Mr. Aldrete-Davila from a photo display and that his brother, Jose, told agents that Mr. Aldrete-Davila brought the marijuana from Juarez, Mexico, and identified him as "the person who was shot by Border Patrol agents."

The Ramos and Compean convictions caused a national firestorm among many lawmakers, including several who called on President Bush to pardon them.

Mr. Bonner said that during the time Mr. Aldrete-Davila served as the "star witness" in the Ramos-Compean trial, he was let into the U.S. for "urgent humanitarian reasons" and "significant public benefit" and allowed to cross the border freely without supervision.

"While the indictment and arrest of this drug smuggler are certainly welcome and long overdue, their timing is extremely suspicious," he said. "Since all aspects of the investigation, indictment and arrest have always been under the complete control of the Department of Justice, reasonable people wonder why it waited until the end of the appeals process for agents Ramos and Compean to arrest the drug smuggler."

Mr. Bonner said it is "much more likely that this latest announcement is just another ploy to divert attention away from its unwarranted prosecution of two innocent Border Patrol agents."

"No one deserves a gold star for belatedly correcting their own serious mistakes," he said.

http://washingtontimes.com

You find the most interesting articles jean. Thank you.

Mr. Bonner said that during the time Mr. Aldrete-Davila served as the "star witness" in the Ramos-Compean trial, he was let into the U.S. for "urgent humanitarian reasons" and "significant public benefit" and allowed to cross the border freely without supervision.

His "significant public benefit" was delivering more drugs. What makes it worse, the government knew full well what he was doing and ignored the fact. They aided, abetted, and harbored a drug-smuggling illegal alien with immunity and allowed him to cross the border unsupervised. By the way, did he get free medical treatment in the U.S.?

"The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior." Dr. Phil

Why thank you MyAmerica.