U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Western District of Texas
April 25, 2007
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY JOHNNY SUTTON SETS THE RECORD STRAIGHT REGARDING THE PROSECUTION OF RAMOS AND COMPEAN
Former Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean were found guilty by a unanimous jury in a United States District Court after a trial that lasted more than two and a half weeks. The two agents were represented by four experienced and aggressive trial attorneys, all of whom vigorously challenged the Government’s evidence through argument and direct and cross examination. Both agents told their stories from the witness stand and had full opportunities to explain their version of events and to offer their own evidence. The jury heard all admissible evidence, including the defendants’ claims of self defense, but the jury did not find their stories credible.
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Allegation: THE AGENTS WERE JUST DOING THEIR JOBS AND SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN PROSECUTED
Response: Securing our nation’s borders can be a tough and dangerous job. Often, Border Patrol agents find themselves in difficult and dangerous situations. The Border Patrol provides them with guns and the law allows them to defend themselves. The law allows for the use of deadly force when an agent reasonably fears imminent bodily injury or death. But, an agent is not permitted to shoot an unarmed suspect who is running away, regardless of whether the victim is illegally in this country or turns out to be a drug smuggler. In order to maintain the rule of law, federal prosecutors cannot look the other way when law enforcement officers shoot unarmed suspects who are running away, then destroy evidence, engage in a cover-up, and file official reports that are false.
There was no credible evidence that the agents were in a life-threatening situation or that Osvaldo Aldrete Davila, the Mexican alien, had a weapon that would justify the use of deadly force. In fact, Border Patrol Agent Oscar Juarez, who was at the scene, testified at trial that he did not draw his pistol because he did not believe that Aldrete posed a threat to his or Agent Compean’s safety. Vol. VIII, p. 173; Vol. IX, p. 22. He also testified that Aldrete’s hands were empty when Compean attempted to strike Aldrete with the butt of Compean’s shotgun. Vol. VIII, p. 176. By the time Agent Juarez saw Compean shooting, Aldrete was almost in Mexico. Vol. IX, p. 21-22. The crimes committed by these agents are felonies, not mere administrative oversights. This was not a simple case of discharge of a firearm that was not reported. The truth of this case is that Agents Ramos and Compean intentionally, and with the intent to kill, shot 15 times at an unarmed man who was running away from them and who posed no threat.
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Allegation: ALDRETE HAD A GUN AND THE AGENTS ONLY FIRED IN SELF DEFENSE
Response: The jury in this case evaluated the testimony from Border Patrol agents, including the defendants, whose testimony established that Aldrete did not have a gun in his hands when Compean had an opportunity to arrest him. Agent Juarez testified that Aldrete’s hands were visible and empty as Aldrete approached Compean. Vol. VIII, pp. 175-176; Vol. IX, p. 155. Ramos testified that he did not see anything in Aldrete’s hands as Aldrete moved through the ditch. Vol. XIII, p. 43. Compean testified that Aldrete’s hands were empty as he went through the ditch and later, that Aldrete had no weapon in his hands. Vol. XIII, pp. 154-155; Vol. XIV, pp. 66-68, 71-72. In his statement to investigators, Compean admitted that Aldrete had attempted to surrender with both hands open and in the air. In their sworn testimony, Agents Juarez and Compean both confirmed that Aldrete had his hands in the air, Vol. VIII, p. 175; Vol. IX, pp. 155-156; Vol. XIII, pp. 154-155; Vol. XIV, pp. 66-68, 71-72, in an apparent effort to surrender. Testimony also revealed that Agents Ramos and Compean never took cover nor did they ever warn the other agents to take cover. Vol. VIII, p. 176; Vol. X, pp. 168-169. This action contradicts their claims that they believed they were in danger. Had Agents Ramos and Compean truly believed Aldrete was a threat, they would not have abandoned him after the shooting, Vol. VII, pp. 122-125, and they would have warned their fellow agents who arrived at the scene to stay out of the open while an armed suspect was on the loose. Agent Compean testified that after the shooting, he picked up his spent casings and threw them into the drainage ditch. Vol. XIII, pp. 165-166; Vol. XIV, p. 157. He even admitted that he may have picked up Ramos’ casing. Vol. XIV, p. 158. He could not explain at trial why he did this. Vol. XIII, pp. 165-166; Vol. XIV, pp.156-158. Agent Arturo Vasquez testified that Compean actually removed the casings from the scene, showing them to Vasquez as Compean was returning to the Fabens Border Patrol Station. Vasquez Transcript, pp. 36-38. According to Vasquez, Compean showed him nine spent casings and calculated he was missing five more, based on the number of live rounds remaining in his magazine. Vasquez Transcript, pp. 37-38. If the agents had believed that the shooting was justified, they would have left the crime scene undisturbed and let the investigation absolve them. Their conduct established that the agents knew that Aldrete did not have a weapon and they knew he posed no threat to them as he fled. Immediately following the shooting, when Ramos encountered Agent Jose Luis Mendoza near the van, Ramos did not say he was in fear for his life or that he shot at anyone. Vol. X, p. 35. While Compean confessed to his fellow agents, David Jacquez and Vasquez, that he shot at the driver, he did not tell them that the driver had a gun, that he saw something shiny in the driver’s left hand, or that he or Ramos were ever in danger. Vol. X, pp. 69-70, 80; Vasquez Transcript, p. 35. Had Aldrete actually had a gun or a shiny object in his left hand, or had Aldrete truly posed a danger to either Ramos or Compean at any time, they would have broadcast to any and everyone that the driver had a gun.
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