Border Patrol Agent Shot And Killed

CAMPO - A U.S. Border Patrol agent was fatally shot in Campo near the border with Baja California Thursday night.

The shooting was reported about 9:15 p.m. near the border on Shockey Truck Trail southeast of the San Diego Sheriff Department's Campo substation.

Four engines, paramedics, and a medical helicopter were dispatched to the area, but the agent was declared dead at the scene, according to Cal Fire Battalion Chief Nick Schuler.

UPDATE:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2301194/posts

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jul/25/bn26border204032/?tijuana&zIndex=138429

“Arrest in Border Patrol agent death”
By Kristina Davis and Sandra Dibble
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERS
8:40 p.m. July 25, 2009

TIJUANA –

SNIPPET: “The suspect, Ernesto Parra Valenzuela, 36, is in federal custody, Commissioner Elias Alvarez Hernandez, head of federal police forces in Baja California, said at a news conference in Tijuana.

Tecate municipal police on Friday arrested Parra Valenzuela in the vicinity of the shooting five hours afterward. They said that he had a 9mm pistol tucked in his clothing.

The man who named Parra Valenzuela as the shooter was identified as Jose Eugenio Quintero Ruiz, one of four human-smuggling suspects who were detained in the same Tecata area by Mexican federal police, along with 21 migrants.

Alvarez said that Quintero was part of a smuggling group wanted by U.S. authorities for two recent murders and a rape.

Rosas, 30, was tracking suspected illegal immigrants in remote and rocky terrain about 9:15 p.m. Thursday when he came under fire near the U.S.-Mexican border.

Other agents found him dead outside his vehicle near the border fence moments later.”

Note: The following text is a quote:

July 24, 2009

http://sandiego.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel09/sd072409.htm

$100,000 Reward Offered for Information Concerning the Death of Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas

The FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual(s) responsible for the death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas, who was killed in the line of duty on Thursday, July 23, 2009, at Campo, California.

On Thursday, July 23, 2009, at approximately 9:15 p.m the body of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas was found in the vicinity of Shockey Truck Trail in Campo, California. At the time of his death, Agent Rosas and other U.S. Border Patrol Agents were tracking a group of individuals near the U.S./Mexico border fence. In the course of tracking the group, the other Agents lost radio contact with Agent Rosas and became concerned for his safety. Agents conducted a search of the area and subsequently, found Agent Rosas’ body which appeared to have been shot several times.

The FBI is asking anyone with information concerning the death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Rojas to contact the FBI at telephone number (858) 565-1255. If requested you may remain anonymous.

The FBI is conducting this investigation jointly with the U.S. Border Patrol, the San Diego Sheriff’s Department, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

See post no. 45. This is an additional reward offered.

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/08062009_3.xml

CBP Offers $250,000 Reward for Information on Agent Rosas’ Murder

(Thursday, August 06, 2009)

Washington - U.S. Customs and Border Protection is offering a $250,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual(s) responsible for the death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas, who was killed in the line of duty July 23 near Campo, Calif.

“CBP offers this reward to encourage anyone with information on the murder of Agent Rosas to come forward and share the information with the FBI,” said CBP Acting Commissioner Jayson P. Ahern. “Bringing those responsible to justice for this heinous act is of paramount importance for CBP and our law enforcement partners on behalf of Agent Rosas’ family, friends and colleagues.”

On July 23, Agent Rosas was shot and killed by unidentified assailants near Campo after responding to suspicious activity in an area notorious for alien and drug smuggling.

Reports indicate that Agent Rosas exited his vehicle in the vicinity of Shockey Truck Trail to track a group of individuals. Border Patrol Agents patrolling nearby heard gun shots in the vicinity and tried to contact Agent Rosas. After he failed to respond, they rushed to locate him. They found Agent Rosas’ body near his service vehicle, shot several times.

It is unknown where the shots originated or the whereabouts of the assailant(s). An international effort involving the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, the Government of Mexico, and other partners is underway to locate and bring to justice the perpetrator(s) of this atrocious act.

CBP is asking anyone with information concerning the death of Agent Rosas to contact the FBI at (858) 565-1255. If requested, the person providing information may remain anonymous.

CBP’s $250,000 reward offer is in addition to the FBI’s $100,000 reward offer and an additional $10,000 for the recovery of Agent Rosas’ service weapon.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation’s borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

http://www.policeone.com/border-patrol/articles/1863247-Wheres-the-national-bleeping-outrage/

Surviving the Streets
with Lt. Jim Glennon

“Where’s the national (bleeping) outrage?”

SNIPPET: “Editor’s Note: I would like to pay a special thanks to the men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol for protecting our country from those who would do us harm — nothing even close to sufficient is being done to support you. Thank you also, to Brad Mellon of the American Red Cross, who gave me permission to use the images he captured during Agent Rosas’ funeral. Lastly, I want to thank everyone in the law enforcement community who chooses to join the effort Jim and I have begun here. I cannot guarantee success, but I can promise one hell of a fight.
— Doug Wyllie, PoliceOne Senior Editor

I believe that too many citizens — among them certain specific segments of the media and some politicians — lack respect for both our borders and for our nation’s Border Patrol Agents. There is a collective blindness to the realities of what our Border Patrol Agents face at the borders, both South and North. To paraphrase myself, our borders and our Border Patrol Agents get no respect.

About 4,000 people packed a memorial service for Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas, who was shot and killed at approximately 9:15 p.m. on Thursday, July 23, 2009. Photo courtesy of Brad J. Mellon, American Red Cross.

Drug cartels, gangs, human traffickers, and terrorists are coming across our borders and they are altogether too ready and too willing to kill our BP Agents. But virtually no one in the media is willing to focus on this issue — no one seems interested in reporting on the very real dangers faced by Agents every day.”

Previously...

http://www.policeone.com/border-patrol/articles/1855288-No-respect-Borders-and-Border-Patrol/

July 13, 2009
Surviving the Streets
with Lt. Jim Glennon

“No respect: Borders and Border Patrol”

SNIPPET: “During the past two years I’ve had the absolute privilege of working many times with members of our nation’s Border Patrol as well as other Agencies within the Homeland Security umbrella (ICE, Customs, OIG, etc.). As an instructor I have been in the Border Patrol Sectors of El Centro and San Diego California, as well as Del Rio, Texas. I’ve been with ICE in Los Angeles and at an OIG Conference in Dallas.

Prior to my involvement I was totally ignorant to the following:

• who these people actually were
• what their respective agencies were responsible for
• how bad the illegal immigrant problem is
• how incredibly violent many of these illegals are
• the massive amounts of narcotics seized by Border Agents annually
• the emergence of Mexican terrorist “hit squads” murdering thousands along the border
• that Phoenix, Arizona (yes right here in the U.S.) is second only to Mexico City for the most kidnappings for ransom in the entire world (!)
• and finally, how incredibly ignorant the rest of this country — especially our objective and “unbiased” media — is to the reality of this dire national security threat”

Note: The following text is a quote:

November 20, 2009

http://sandiego.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel09/sd112009.htm

Defendant Pleads Guilty to Murder Charge for the Death of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol Agent Robert W. Rosas, Jr.

SAN DIEGO, CA—United States Attorney Karen P. Hewitt announced the filing of an information and the guilty plea today of an individual involved in the death of Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol Agent Robert W. Rosas, Jr. Agent Rosas was shot and killed on July 23, 2009, while he was on a routine patrol near San Diego, Calif. The information charges the defendant with the murder of a federal officer committed in perpetration of a robbery.

According to the plea agreement, Christian Daniel Castro-Alvarez, age 17, admitted that during the evening of July 23, 2009, he illegally entered the United States for the purpose of robbing a Border Patrol agent of government property. While Agent Rosas was engaged in the performance of his duties, Castro-Alvarez and his co-conspirators lured Agent Rosas out of his vehicle for the purpose of robbing him. During the course of the robbery, Agent Rosas and the defendant struggled over a firearm and Agent Rosas was shot multiple times by the defendant and one or more of the co-conspirators. Agent Rosas died as a result of the shots fired by one or more of the co-conspirators.

The defendant appeared before the Honorable M. James Lorenz, United States District Court Judge, this morning for a motion to transfer proceedings against a juvenile to adult criminal prosecution. He was later arraigned on the information and entered a guilty plea. According to documents submitted in district court in connection with the hearing today, the defendant was a minor at the time the offense was committed and he voluntarily surrendered to the United States to face criminal charges.

“Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas was killed in the line of duty bravely protecting our border. Our nation owes him and his family a great debt of gratitude for his ultimate sacrifice in service of our country. Today’s guilty plea is an important step in seeking justice on behalf of Agent Rosas,” said United States Attorney Hewitt.

United States Attorney Hewitt also noted that, “since July 23, 2009, when this tragic incident occurred, federal agents and prosecutors together spent countless hours focused on this investigation. Our work on this case is not yet done, but I want to extend my deep appreciation to all of them for what they have achieved thus far and for their shared commitment to justice. The agents of the FBI San Diego Field Division deserve special thanks for their swift, professional, and comprehensive action in investigating Agent Rosas’ death.”

San Diego FBI Special Agent in Charge Keith Slotter commented, “While the investigation is ongoing, today’s plea marks a significant day in this case. The night Agent Rosas was killed we all lost a brave officer whose mission was to defend our country from threats both domestic and abroad. We recognize the ultimate sacrifice Agent Rosas paid protecting this country. I am proud of the hard work our agents and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have put into bringing this individual to justice.”

The defendant is scheduled to appear next on Feb. 19, 2010, at 10:30 a.m., before Judge Lorenz for sentencing.

The investigation was assisted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection U.S. Border Patrol, and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. The case is being prosecuted in San Diego federal court by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Pettit and Seth Askins.

April 29, 2010

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://sandiego.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel10/sd042910.htm

Defendant Sentenced to Prison for Murder of Border Patrol Agent

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol Agent Robert W. Rosas, Jr. was Killed While on Routine Duty on the U.S. - Mexico Border in July 2009

SAN DIEGO—Christian Daniel Castro-Alvarez, 17, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge M. James Lorenz to serve 480 months in federal prison based on his guilty plea in the death of Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol Agent Robert W. Rosas, Jr., U.S. Attorney Karen P. Hewitt for the Southern District of California announced today. Agent Rosas was shot and killed on July 23, 2009, while he was on a routine patrol near San Diego. The defendant previously pleaded guilty to the murder of a federal officer committed in perpetration of a robbery.

U.S. Attorney Hewitt said, “Agent Rosas was tragically murdered in the line of duty as he protected the border and our nation. His proud career as a federal law enforcement officer stood for seeking justice and upholding the rule of law. Because of today’s sentence of imprisonment, the next 40 years the defendant serves in prison shall also echo those important principles—justice and the rule of law—for which Agent Rosas paid the ultimate sacrifice.”

According to the plea agreement, Castro-Alvarez admitted that during the evening of July 23, 2009, he illegally entered the United States for the purpose of robbing a Border Patrol agent of government property. While Agent Rosas was engaged in the performance of his duties, Castro-Alvarez and his co-conspirators lured Agent Rosas out of his vehicle for the purpose of robbing him. During the course of the robbery, Agent Rosas and the defendant struggled over a firearm and Agent Rosas was shot multiple times by the defendant and one or more of the co-conspirators. Agent Rosas died as a result of the shots fired. According to court documents, Castro-Alvarez was a minor at the time the offense was committed, and he voluntarily surrendered to the United States to face criminal charges. The defendant also agreed to transfer proceedings from juvenile disposition to adult criminal prosecution.

“This brutal act of violence on a U.S. Border Patrol agent cannot and will not be tolerated,” Acting Chief Patrol Agent Richard A. Barlow of the U.S. Border Patrol’s San Diego Sector said. “Although Mr. Castro-Alvarez has well earned this long custodial sentence, his punishment will never repay the debt he owes to those he has affected and who grieve the murder of Agent Rosas.”

FBI Special Agent in Charge Keith Slotter commented, “Agent Rosas was a brave man who gave his life defending our nation’s borders. Without thoughtful investigative work and cooperation of law enforcement agencies on both sides of the border, today’s sentencing would not have come. Though the death of Agent Rosas was tragic, I am pleased to see this individual brought to justice.”

The investigation was conducted by the FBI. U.S. Attorney Hewitt noted that the agents of the FBI San Diego Field Division deserve special thanks for their swift, professional, and comprehensive action in investigating Agent Rosas’ death. The investigation was assisted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection - U.S. Border Patrol, and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. The case was prosecuted in San Diego federal court by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Pettit and Seth Askins.

NOTE The following text is a quote:

www.fbi.gov/sandiego/press-releases/2013/second-defendant-sentenced-in-murder-of-u.s.-border-patrol-agent-robert-rosas

Second Defendant Sentenced in Murder of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas

U.S. Attorney’s Office
November 14, 2013

Southern District of California

SAN DIEGO—Marcos Rodriguez-Perez was sentenced today to 56 years in prison for his participation in the July 2009 robbery and murder of United States Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas, Jr.

Rodriguez-Perez, a 28-year-old Mexican national, pleaded guilty in August, admitting he was one of three gunmen who lured the agent into a trap to steal his night-vision goggles and then fatally shot him during a struggle. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery and kidnaping, robbery of personal property of the United States, and use and carrying of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence.

United States District Judge M. James Lorenz also ordered that Rodriguez’s sentence run consecutive to a two-year sentence Rodriguez is currently serving for violating his supervised release from a prior alien smuggling conviction. Prosecutors noted in court that because Rodriguez is almost 29 years old, the combined sentences likely mean Rodriguez will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Court filings indicate that in July 2009, Rodriguez and four others plotted to rob a Border Patrol agent of his night-vision device. On July 23, 2009, the group, bearing firearms, traveled by car and foot to the international border near Campo, California. Rodriguez and two others sneaked into the United States at night and waited for a Border Patrol agent to arrive in the area, while the remaining two members of the group stood watch in Mexico. After Agent Rosas arrived in the area and exited his vehicle, Rodriguez and other conspirators detained Rosas at gunpoint. Agent Rosas resisted, and, during the ensuing struggle, Rodriguez and his co-conspirators shot Agent Rosas multiple times, killing him. Rodriguez and his co-conspirators then stole the agent’s firearm, night-vision device, and other equipment and fled back to Mexico.

In April 2011, Mexican officials arrested Rodriguez in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, at the request of the United States. Rodriguez was extradited to the United States in October 2011.

Rodriguez is the second defendant to be sentenced for Agent Rosas’s murder. In April 2010, Judge Lorenz sentenced Christian Daniel Castro-Alvarez to 40 years of imprisonment. Two other defendants, Jose Luis Ramirez-Dorantes and Emilio Samyn Gonzales-Arenazas, have pleaded guilty to participating in the murder and are scheduled to be sentenced in December 2013 and January 2014 respectively. The last defendant, Jose Juan Chacon-Morales, remains a fugitive, and there is a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to his arrest or location.

After Rodriguez’s sentencing, United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy expressed her condolences to Agent Rosas’s family and colleagues at the Border Patrol: “Nothing can change what happened to Robert on that horrible night, and we realize that. I hope, however, that seeing these men brought to justice and sent to prison for decades helps his family and friends, in some way, as they cope with his loss and move forward.”

Duffy also praised the agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations who conducted the investigation. “This has been a lengthy and extraordinarily difficult investigation, but it’s a testament to the diligence and resolve of those agents as well as the people of the United States, that four men were arrested in a foreign jurisdiction and are now sitting in U.S. prisons. If a law enforcement officer is harmed, we’ll use every resource we have to catch the perpetrators, and never let it be doubted: We will find them.”

Chief Patrol Agent Paul A. Beeson of the U.S. Border Patrol’s San Diego Sector said, “On behalf of the Border Patrol agents of San Diego Sector and all Border Patrol agents nationwide, I want to express our deepest gratitude for the tenacity, persistence, and hard work expended by the honorable men and women of law enforcement involved in this compelling case resulting in Rodriguez-Perez’ arrest, conviction, and sentencing. This sentencing is tempered with the sobering reality of the senseless loss of a fine man, husband, and father who was Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas.”

FBI Special Agent in Charge Daphne Hearn commented, “Today’s sentencing sends a message that the FBI is committed to bringing to justice those responsible for the death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas. Agent Rosas served his country with dedication, honor, and courage and was killed while protecting our nation’s borders. The FBI recognizes that no punishment will lessen Agent Rosas’ death, but we hope today’s sentencing will help bring some closure to the family.”

Defendant in Criminal Case No. 10CR1793-L

Marcos Rodriguez-Perez
Age: 28
Mexico

Summary of Charges

Count one: Title 18, United States Code, Section 371: Conspiracy to commit robbery and kidnapping

Count two: Title 18, United States Code, Section 2112: Robbery of U.S. property

Count five: Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1): Discharging firearms during and in relation to a crime of violence

Investigating Agencies

Federal Bureau of Investigation
Homeland Security Investigations
United States Border Patrol

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