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Mistrial announced for U.S. border agent linked to teenager's fatal shooting
Source: CBS/AP
CBS/AP April 23, 2018, 9:26 PM
Mistrial announced for U.S. border agent linked to teenager's fatal shooting
PHOENIX -- A mistrial was declared Monday in the case of a U.S. Border Patrol agent after an Arizona jury acquitted him of a second-degree murder charge in the killing of a teen from Mexico but deadlocked on lesser counts of manslaughter. The decision by U.S. District Judge Raner Collins means prosecutors could seek another trial for Agent Lonnie Swartz on the manslaughter charges in the 2012 death of Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez, who was fatally shot as he threw rocks at authorities during a drug smuggling attempt. Prosecutors say they were evaluating whether to pursue a retrial.
Jurors had deliberated about 18 hours over five days in what human rights attorneys say was the first prosecution of a Border Patrol agent in a fatal shooting across the border.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has refused to release surveillance camera footage of the incident.
In wake of Monday's decision, protesters took to the streets in Tucson, CBS affiliate KOLD-TV reports. The station writes that people gathered near the federal courthouse where Swartz was on trial.
-snip-
Mistrial announced for U.S. border agent linked to teenager's fatal shooting
PHOENIX -- A mistrial was declared Monday in the case of a U.S. Border Patrol agent after an Arizona jury acquitted him of a second-degree murder charge in the killing of a teen from Mexico but deadlocked on lesser counts of manslaughter. The decision by U.S. District Judge Raner Collins means prosecutors could seek another trial for Agent Lonnie Swartz on the manslaughter charges in the 2012 death of Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez, who was fatally shot as he threw rocks at authorities during a drug smuggling attempt. Prosecutors say they were evaluating whether to pursue a retrial.
Jurors had deliberated about 18 hours over five days in what human rights attorneys say was the first prosecution of a Border Patrol agent in a fatal shooting across the border.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has refused to release surveillance camera footage of the incident.
In wake of Monday's decision, protesters took to the streets in Tucson, CBS affiliate KOLD-TV reports. The station writes that people gathered near the federal courthouse where Swartz was on trial.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mistrial-us-border-patrol-agent-lonnie-swartz-manslaughter-charges-today-2018-04-23/