Lonnie Swartz, a border patrol agent who was involved in a cross-border shootout that resulted in the death of a Mexican 16-year-old in 2012, has been charged with second-degree murder, according to news reports:
A Border Patrol agent who shot and killed a Mexican teen for throwing rocks has been charged with murder http://t.co/X7WkOffSJ4
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) September 24, 2015
More on the federal indictment of #Border Patrol agent Lonnie Swartz for the murder of a Mexican teenager in 2012: http://t.co/3W5xgqB4gg
— Mitra Ebadolahi (@MitraEbadolahi) September 24, 2015
The Border Patrol alleges that the Mexican teen, Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez, was part of a larger group that was throwing rocks at the agents on the Nogales, Ariz. side of the border as they were responding to a report of suspected drug smugglers at the fence. From the Arizona Daily Star:
The shooting occurred around 11:30 p.m. when Nogales police officers and U.S. Border Patrol agents responded to a call of suspected smuggling at the border fence that separates the downtown area of the twin cities.
The Border Patrol said the agents saw two people abandon a load of drugs and run into Mexico. The agents were then barraged by rocks thrown from Mexico and fired across the border, the agency said.
Swartz will be arraigned in Tuscon on October 9 where his attorney says he will plead not guilty to the charges.
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