Men accused of killing Border Patrol agent in ‘Fast & Furious’ case found guilty
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE - In this Dec. 15, 2010, file photo, an American flag on a nearby resident's home waves in the breeze near a U.S. Border Patrol truck blocking the road leading to a search area near where agent Brian Terry, 40, was killed northwest of Nogales, Ariz. Two men charged with murder in the death of agent Terry that revealed the bungled gun-smuggling investigation known as Fast and Furious go on trial Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015. The men were charged in the killing of agent Terry during the Fast and Furious operation in which federal agents allowed criminals to buy guns with the intention of tracking them. Instead, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives lost track of 1,400 of the 2,000 guns involved in the sting operation, including two weapons found at the scene of Terry's killing. (Greg Bryan/Arizona Daily Star Via AP, File) MANDATORY CREDIT; GREEN VALLEY NEWS OUT;
A jury has found two men guilty of murder in the killing of a U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, whose death exposed the botched federal operation known as Fast and Furious.
The jury found Jesus Leonel Sanchez-Meza and Ivan Soto-Barraza guilty of all counts. Jurors had begun deliberations Wednesday afternoon, a week after the trial began in federal court in Tucson.
Sanchez-Meza, also known as Lionel Portillo-Meza, and Soto-Barraza were part of a five-man crew that planned on robbing drug smugglers when they encountered Agent Terry and three others on Dec. 14, 2010.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A gunfight ensued, and Terry died of a single gunshot wound. Two guns found at the scene were part of the Fast and Furious operation that allowed criminals to buy weapons that federal authorities intended to track.
Defense attorney Ramiro Flores said in his closing that the defendants were acting in self-defense and that they did not initiate the firefight. He criticized the agents' tactics, questioning why agents were so far from the rip crew when their goal was to arrest them and why they provided conflicting testimony about the timeline of events.
"They are all saying different things about the announcement, about the shooting, about how these individuals carried their rifles," Flores said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The two defendants were the first to go on trial in the killing of Terry, whose death brought to light the bungled federal operation known as Fast and Furious that allowed criminals to buy weapons that federal authorities intended to track.
Instead, federal agents lost about 1,400 guns, including two found at the scene of Terry's killing.
Terry was part of a four-man Border Patrol team from an elite tactical unit that went to the area to arrest rip crew members. The team was set to be relieved an hour after the shooting occurred.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The gunfight began when an agent yelled "policia!" at the men and they refused to stop. An agent then fired bean bags, which are not deadly, and members of the rip crew began firing from assault rifles, authorities said.
Terry never had a chance to fire. He died of a gunshot wound that entered through his back.
Republicans sought to hold the Obama administration accountable over the Fast and Furious operation, conducting a series of inquiries into the how the U.S. Justice Department allowed guns to end up in the hands of criminals.
Former Attorney General Eric Holder was held in contempt after he refused to divulge documents for a congressional investigation into the matter. Since then, the Justice Department has focused on arresting and trying all suspects involved. The Terry family, which has been present throughout the trial in Tucson, says it wants ATF officials who orchestrated the sting to be prosecuted in the agent's death.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The judge ruled before the trial started that information about the operation would be excluded from testimony.
Two other men charged in the case — including a man who assembled the crew but who was not present that night — have pleaded guilty. Two others are fugitives.