Mar

19

Mistrial declare for Border Agent

March 19, 2008 |

 Mexico is madder than hell over this one. Let them. A mistrial has been declared over a border agent shooting an illegal who threatened him with a rock. Saw this article while looking for news on Ramos and Compean. At least one agent defending himself is free, at least for now.

PHOENIX (Reuters) - A judge declared a mistrial due to a deadlocked jury on Friday in the case of a U.S. Border Patrol agent charged with killing a Mexican man crossing illegally into Arizona.

U.S. District Judge David C. Bury canceled the trial of Border Patrol agent Nicholas Corbett after the jury had failed to reach a verdict since starting deliberations on Tuesday, a court official said.

Corbett, 40, faced charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter and negligent homicide for shooting dead Francisco Dominguez Rivera on January 12 2007, in a case closely watched by watched by pro- and anti-illegal immigrant groups.

The shooting occurred on an isolated stretch of the border between Naco and Douglas, where Dominguez Rivera, 22, had crossed from Mexico with his two brothers and the girlfriend of one of the brothers.

Corbett said he fired after Dominguez Rivera threatened him with a rock, while prosecutors argued the shooting was unprovoked.

The incident drew an immediate rebuke by the Mexican government last year with that country’s Foreign Ministry complaining of “disproportionate violence.” Diplomats at the Mexican Embassy in Washington called for a thorough investigation.

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