Man shot by agents stashed drugs after he got immunity

[Snowden]

Man shot by agents stashed drugs after he got immunity

By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
March 1, 2007

A Mexican national who was shot by U.S. Border Patrol agents after abandoning 743 pounds of marijuana on the Texas border brought a second drug load into the United States while waiting to testify under a grant of immunity against the now-imprisoned agents, according to unreleased federal documents.


U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) documents, which remain under seal, show that Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila was the focus of a drug investigation into his reported stashing of 750 pounds of marijuana in a van at a house in Clint, Texas, in November 2005 -- nine months after he was shot in the buttocks near Fabens, Texas, while running from Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean.


The agents have since been sentenced to 11 and 12 years, respectively, in prison. Clint is eight miles northwest of Fabens in what law-enforcement authorities describe as a popular drug smuggling corridor.

The DEA's investigative reports, according to law-enforcement authorities and others, said a witness identified Aldrete-Davila as the van's driver, and that the owner of the house, Cipriano Ortiz-Hernandez, picked Aldrete-Davila from a display of several photos.


The authorities also said the reports show that the homeowner's brother, Jose Ortiz, told agents that Aldrete-Davila had brought the marijuana into the country from Juarez, Mexico, and identified him as "the person who was shot by Border Patrol agents."


Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, California Republican, said the DEA reports show that prosecutors misled the public about their "star witness" in the transport of a second load of drugs, adding that U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton knowingly presented a false picture of the drug smuggler "to justify his ruthless prosecution."


He said that under Mr. Sutton's direction, prosecutors characterized the smuggler as an innocent victim, "which is clearly not the case," and when Mr. Sutton's office was told by the DEA of Aldrete-Davila's involvement in a second offense, "chose to disregard the information."


"Sutton's continuous attempts to paint a benign picture of the drug smuggler is not only disingenuous, but amounts to misleading the jury and the public when questioned about the second offense," he said. "Only an unscrupulous lawyer would believe this is an acceptable tactic."


Shana Jones, spokeswoman for Mr. Sutton, told The Washington Times yesterday that the prosecutor's office could not comment about matters under seal or on ongoing investigations.

"This office will pursue criminal charges where there is prosecutable criminal activity and competent evidence to prove it," Ms. Jones said. "We have clearly stated that the immunity necessarily afforded to Aldrete-Davila in the investigation and trial of Ramos and Compean for the February 17 incident would not extend to any subsequent or future criminal activity that may be alleged.


"It is truly unfortunate that some members of Congress have inaccurately implied that such immunity would be extended beyond the scope of this trial," she said.


Mr. Rohrabacher's spokeswoman, Tara Setmayer, confirmed yesterday that her boss had a copy of the reports but said he had no intention of disclosing information from them that could be damaging to an ongoing investigation. She said he sought only to establish Aldrete-Davila's suspected involvement in a second drug-smuggling incident.

Ramos, 37, and Compean, 28, were sentenced in October in federal court in El Paso, Texas, on charges of causing serious bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon, discharge of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence and a civil rights violation.

The conviction came after Aldrete-Davila was located in Mexico by Homeland Security investigators and given immunity by Mr. Sutton's office in exchange for his testimony against the agents. The immunity agreement protected Aldrete-Davila from being charged in this country with drug smuggling.


Aldrete-Davila was shot after he ignored orders by the agents to stop his vehicle. Court records show he jumped from his van and ran south to the Rio Grande, where he was confronted on foot by Compean. Although wounded, Aldrete-Davila crossed the border and escaped in a waiting van.

Both agents testified that they thought Aldrete-Davila had a gun in his hand and feared for their lives when they fired shots at him.



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[cato2]

Federal Report: Convicted former BP agents lied, covered up shooting
Date("Feb 20, 2007 11:36 AM EST")
Feb 20, 2007 09:36 AM



EL PASO, Texas (AP) - A new federal report on the investigation into former Border Patrol agents who shot a suspected drug smuggler concurs with prosecutors that the men committed obstruction of justice by not reporting the shooting, destroying evidence and lying to investigators.


The case against the former agents, who were fired after their convictions, has drawn criticism from conservative members of Congress who have argued that the agents were doing their job when they injured Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila in 2005 near El Paso.


The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's report on the investigation was drafted in 2006, after Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean were convicted and each was sentenced to more than a decade in federal prison.


The 77-page report was made public for the first time Wednesday.

KVIA.com - The El Paso News Leader - Federal Report: Convicted former BP agents lied, covered up shooting



PRESS RELEASES AND TRIAL TRANSCRIPTS

Information Regarding the Prosecution of Border Patrol Agents Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos.


This link contains the court transcript from the prosecution and conviction of former Border Patrol agents Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos. This is the official transcript provided to the U.S. Attorney's Office by the U.S. District Court in El Paso. On March 8, 2006, a federal jury convicted Compean and Ramos on charges associated with a February 2005 shooting incident. Specifically, Compean and Ramos were convicted of assault with serious bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon, discharge of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence and a civil rights charge. Compean and Ramos were also convicted on four counts and two counts, respectively, of obstruction of justice.
U.S. Attorney's Office - Western District of Texas

[las47032]

Dirt bag got off Scott Free and the two Border Patrol Agents are in jail.

Apparently politicians and the business community sold out to making greater profits by using and exploiting cheap Mexican labor.

[Woodmonkey]

If the Attorney General doesn't get involved in this mess, then there's something wrong with him. I hope that this is grounds for appeal for these Border Agents. I also hope they win big in a lawsuit.

[Shooterman]

Originally Posted by Woodmonkey

If the Attorney General doesn't get involved in this mess, then there's something wrong with him. I hope that this is grounds for appeal for these Border Agents. I also hope they win big in a lawsuit.

The AG wants to stay as far away from this as he can. Sutton is one of his and Mr Bush's buddies. As more and more comes out, it appears Sutton hammered these guys and then lied about it. The appeals will, I believe vindicate these guys, presuming they don't get killed in prison first.

[cato2]

One of the reasons that these two agents received prison sentences for the crimes that they did commit, such as not reporting the incident, is because they are held to a higher standard down here.

This border has always had problems with greed or stupidity. Every once in a while they will arrest one of the federal or state agents who for instance is involved with smuggling either drugs or humans across the border. And when that happens the public loses faith with law enforcement in the community. So the judges that reside on their trials will throw the book at them. They have taken advantage of their law enforcement role to break the law themselves.

When the judge sentenced these two agents to prison, the reason is because he felt that they, out of anyone should obey the law since they represent the law. And the only people that really know what happened on the border that day are those three. And their not reporting the incident turned that whole situation against then in the courtroom. I do not think the would be sitting in jail if they had not been found guilty of lying on the stand and had reported the shooting like they were suppose to. This made their argument of fearing for their lives void when the other evidence of their trying to hide it came out.