Thread: U.S. Marshall Found Dead in Juarez

Federal authorities say a deputy U.S. marshal wanted for allegedly stealing a government shotgun has been found dead in Mexico.

A spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service says Deputy Vincent Bustamante was found dead Wednesday in Juarez.

Bustamante had been a fugitive since March 18 when he failed to show up for a court date in El Paso, Texas. He was placed on modified duty status after a pawnbroker called to report Bustamante had pawned a government shotgun.

A law enforcement official says Bustamante was found with a gunshot wound to the back of his head.

Source: AP News

http://www.elpasotimes.com/newupdated/ci_12003988
Link to story

Thanks James, I forgot!

I wonder if Deputy Bustamante was involved in the drug trade? There is definitely more to this story than meets the eye.

Just curious, anymore information come out on this story yet?

MW, haven't seen anything new yet but something doesn't smell right, I agree. The reports say that the Marshall hocked his service shotgun at a pawnshop. This doesn't make sense. Next he is found dead in Juarez, killed execution style. I will be in Juarez today and might ask one of the locals if they know anything new.

Originally Posted by MW

Just curious, anymore information come out on this story yet?

TexasBorn wrote:

MW, haven't seen anything new yet but something doesn't smell right, I agree.

You're right, this definitely doesn't meet the smell test.

[quote="TexasBorn"]MW, haven't seen anything new yet but something doesn't smell right, I agree. The reports say that the Marshall hocked his service shotgun at a pawnshop. This doesn't make sense. Next he is found dead in Juarez, killed execution style. I will be in Juarez today and might ask one of the locals if they know anything new.quote]

Was it the marshal that hocked the gun? He may have been killed with his own shotgun and the killer pawned it.

We need more than just a fence. We need something along the lines of the old Berlin Wall (including gaurd towers.)

Originally Posted by MW

TexasBorn wrote:

MW, haven't seen anything new yet but something doesn't smell right, I agree.

You're right, this definitely doesn't meet the smell test.

I read this when it was first posted and these were my thoughts exactly! Something is certainly fishy.
Please post any new info....

Slain US Marshal Was Fugitive
(March 27) - The U.S. marshal found slain in Mexico was a fugitive accused of stealing firearms from the government and pawning them for desperately needed cash, a report said Friday.
The decomposing body of Deputy U.S. Marshal Vincent Bustamante,48, was found in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, the main battleground in Mexico's drug war. He had been badly beaten and shot once in the head, Mexican police said.


His body was dumped in an irrigation channel near a factory in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from his hometown of El Paso, Texas. His wife identified his remains.
Bustamante was considered a fugitive from U.S. justice.
"There was an active warrant on deputy Bustamante at the time of his death for his failure to appear in court on charges of criminal theft of public property," Deputy U.S. Marshal Gerald Payan said in a statement.
The U.S. Marshals Service is a federal law enforcement agency that specializes in catching fugitives.
Mexican police said Bustamante was not wanted in Mexico.
The El Paso Times reported that Bustamante, who had worked for the Marshals Service for about 18 years, was on suspension and had surrendered his weapon, credentials and badge.
According to federal court documents, Bustamante was charged on March 2 with stealing four .40-caliber Glocks, three shotguns, two Ruger revolvers and a pair of binoculars between September 2004 and December 2007. The weapons and other property was recovered, officials said.
"Some of the accusations against him, (were that) he was pawning some equipment from the Marshals Service to get some quick cash. He had some financial problems," Fernando Karl, chief deputy U.S. marshal for the Western District of Texas, told the El Paso Times.


Bustamante had been a fugitive since March 18 when he failed to show up for a court date in El Paso, CBS News said.
Mexican authorities, the Marshals Service and the FBI were all taking part in the investigation into Bustamante's death.
Skip over this content The discovery of his body comes amid a surge in Mexican drug-related violence that has hurt the local economy and sparked concerns and offers of help from Washington.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited Mexico this week and pledged greater support for Mexican President Felipe Calderon's effort to battle the drug cartels who are fighting over control of smuggling routes to the United States.
Calderon has sent thousands of troops across Mexico to fight the gangs, while the growing violence and spillover northward has put the drug war high on President Barack Obama's agenda.
Some 6,300 people died in drug violence last year in Mexico in a brutal conflict fueled by assault rifles and grenades smuggled in from the United States.

http://news.aol.com/article/us-marshals ... ico/401449