US Border Patrol agent indicted in fatal shooting of Mexican teen
A US Border Patrol agent has been indicted on a second-degree murder charge for the fatal shooting of a teenage boy along the Arizona-Mexico border.
A federal grand jury indicted Lonnie Swartz on Wednesday afternoon. Swartz fired through the border fence into Nogales, Sonora, and fatally wounded 16-year-old Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez on October 10, 2012.
Swartz is also facing a federal civil rights lawsuit.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) accuses the Border Patrol of having a systematic problem with use of force and filed the lawsuit in Tucson on behalf of the Elena Rodriguez’ mother.
The Border Patrol said last year that Swartz shot through the border fence after Elena Rodriguez and others threw rocks as agents and police officers tried to stop two suspected drug smugglers.
The boy’s family, however, has disputed that account, saying Elena Rodriguez was walking home from a basketball game with friends.
An autopsy has revealed that the teenager had been shot about 10 times.
The case sparked national outrage and renewed criticism that Border Patrol agents use force indiscriminately.
US border agents are allowed to resort to lethal force against rock throwers if they believe their lives are in danger.
The agency claims that its agents have come under rock attacks more than 1,700 times since 2010.
In April, the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that Border Patrol agents shooting from US soil cannot be sued when they kill someone across the border in Mexico.
Swartz’s attorney, Sean Chapman, told The Arizona Daily Star that his client would plead not guilty at an arraignment on October 9.
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