Posted on 07/09/2012 3:33:54 PM PDT by Kaslin
After more than 18 months of waiting and a contempt of Congress charge against Attorney General Eric Holder, the FBI unsealed an indictment of five illegal Mexican bandits charged with the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry today in Arizona and offered a $1 million reward for information leading to the arrest of four of the five men who are still on the run and suspected to be in Mexico. The men are Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga, Ivan Soto-Barraza, Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes and Lionel Portillo-Meza, Manuel and Heraclio are brothers. During a press conference earlier today, the FBI confirmed they will ask for the individuals below to be extradited to the United States should they be captured south of the border. The FBI did not confirm whether any of these bandits were working as FBI informants at the time of Terry's death, which confidential sources have said to be the case. At least two of the guns found at Terry's murder scene were linked back to the Department of Justice's Operation Fast and Furious.
From the Department of Justice:
According to the indictment, Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga, Ivan Soto-Barraza, Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes and Lionel Portillo-Meza are charged with crimes including first degree murder, second degree murder, conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, attempted interference with commerce by robbery, use and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence, assault on a federal officer and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. A sixth defendant, Rito Osorio-Arellanes, is charged only with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery.
The 11-count third superseding indictment, which was handed up by a federal grand jury in the District of Arizona on Nov. 7, 2011, alleges that on Dec. 14, 2010, five of the defendants (Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga, Ivan Soto-Barraza, Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes and Lionel Portillo-Meza) engaged in a firefight with Border Patrol agents. During the exchange of gunfire, Agent Terry was shot and killed. The indictment alleges that the defendants had illegally entered the United States from Mexico for the purpose of robbing drug traffickers of their contraband. In addition to the murder of Agent Terry, the indictment also alleges that the five defendants assaulted Border Patrol Agents William Castano, Gabriel Fragoza and Timothy Keller, who were with Agent Terry during the firefight.
Statements from Attorney General Eric Holder, U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy and FBI Special Agent in Charge James L. Turgal:
“Agent Terry served his country honorably and made the ultimate sacrifice in trying to protect it from harm, and we will stop at nothing to bring those responsible for his murder to justice,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “This investigation has previously resulted in one defendant being charged with Agent Terry’s murder and taken into custody, and today’s announcement reflects the department’s unrelenting commitment to finding and arresting the other individuals responsible for this horrific tragedy so that Agent Terry’s family, friends and fellow law enforcement agents receive the justice they deserve.”
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California Laura E. Duffy said, “Agent Terry died in the line of duty while protecting his country. But he was more than a federal agent – he was a son, a brother, a co-worker and a friend to many. The indictment unsealed today reflects the progress our dedicated law enforcement team has made piecing together this complex murder case. But there is more work to be done and we will not rest until we bring justice to the family of Brian Terry.”
“U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry made the ultimate sacrifice in December of 2010, while protecting our border,” stated James L. Turgal Jr., FBI Special Agent in Charge, Phoenix Division. “Today’s announcement is an important step forward in the pursuit of justice for Border Patrol Agent Terry and his family. It is our hope that the publicity surrounding this case will lead to information concerning the whereabouts of the remaining four fugitives. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to pursue those individuals responsible for the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.”
The Terry family is pleased with the move to indict the individuals charged with Brian Terry's death and has issued a statement:
“It has been a difficult 18 months for the family since Brian Terry was murdered in December of 2010 and today’s announcement provides hope that justice will eventually be served,” said Robert Heyer, Chairman of the Brian Terry Foundation and cousin to Brian Terry. “The Terry family would like to thank U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy and her team of prosecutors along with the special agents of the FBI’s Tucson Office and the Mexico City Legal Attaché who have continued to pursue leads in the murder case that ultimately led to the additional indictments of the four fugitive defendants. The Terry family would also like to thank the government of Mexico for their assistance in the investigation. It is the family’s hope that the unsealing of details in the case, the identification of the four fugitives and the issuance of reward monies will lead to the eventual capture of all individuals responsible for the murder of Agent Terry.”
“Today’s developments certainly mean that the criminal prosecution of Brian Terry’s killers is moving forward,” said Terry family attorney Patrick McGroder. “However, the accountability aspect of Operation Fast and Furious, the flawed ATF/DOJ gun trafficking investigation that put weapons into the hands of the men that killed Brian Terry, remains stalled. The Terry family once again asks that the Attorney General and the Department of Justice comply with the request for documents made by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee so that all Americans can know who approved of the operation in order that those individuals can be held accountable for their decisions. Agent Terry died as a hero protecting this country; he and his family rightly deserve a full and thorough explanation of how Operation Fast and Furious came to be.”
I have information.
Eric and Barack did it.
When do I get the million dollars?
I agree. His eyes and his jaw line do not match.
This means that the Feds Have given the green light to
Make these Guys “Dissapear”....
Do you really think they will let these guys testify?
Their own Cartel will eliminate them...or they will be killed trying to escape once in custody.
Or they will commit Suicide “Clinton Style”
Hold on, I thought Fast and Furious didn’t exist.
I hope the parents of Officer Terry go out and rip Holder/Obama a new one.
Posers.
Doesn't that break down when they know that what they are doing is illegal?
Even if a state could specifically prove that a federal agent blatantly broke a state statute in their performance of their federal duties then the federal agent has a right under federal law to have the case moved from state court to federal court.
This I did not know, yet it effectively lacks a check against a corrupt AG. Are you saying that a State cannot charge anyone with a Federal Crime? Can it be referred to a Federal Grand Jury?
Lastly, federal office holders such as Holder are not politically accountable to state court systems or you would have chaos with 50 different states trying to charge federal officeholders with various laws.
Can we except capital crimes? ;-)
Sounds awfully suspicious to me, got to wonder about the timing of this.
Perhaps they are just charging the first 5 guys they could find.
Why is this a reason not to turn over documents/emails to Congress??
Just now getting around to it...
Wonder why?
Didn’t seem to be much of a priority until the Attorney General of the United States was held in contempt of Congress.
Anybody see anything weird here, or am I just biased?
“Doesn’t that break down when they know that what they are doing is illegal?”
Again, the federal government is a separate sovereign from the state government. The federal government does have power to conduct law enforcement operations free and independently from state purview when it involves the direct carrying out and enforcement of federal law. It would be no different than the feds doing an undercover drug operation. Federal agents when performing their duties are only accountable to their department or the federal judiciary and not any state government or state courts. For example, a state supreme court cannot order a federal law enforcement agency on anything. It should be noted that “supremacy clause immunity’ only applies to actual carrying out of federal job duties and that in a narrow scope.
“This I did not know, yet it effectively lacks a check against a corrupt AG. Are you saying that a State cannot charge anyone with a Federal Crime? Can it be referred to a Federal Grand Jury?”
As a federal officeholder cabinet position the AG is only checked by the federal government and not any state government. A state can in theory detain a person for a federal crime but remember that only the federal government can actually prosecute the federal crime. Federal crimes cannot be prosecuted in any state court system. Only US attorneys can prosecute federal crimes and not local district attorneys or the state attorney general. Also, only the US attorney can conduct a federal grand jury and not a local DA or state attorney general.
“Can we except capital crimes? ;-)”
It is complex because again a federal official does have “supremacy clause immunity” and whose policy decisions cannot be weighed or tried in a state level court. A federal official is not accountable to a state level court as far as policy decisions in carrying out federal law. Even if the state could hypothetically prove a capital intent for any federal office holder in the performance of their duties that would be reasonably be out of “supremacy clause immunity” protection then it is an uphill battle. When the state charge is moved to a federal court then it is unlikely that the federal judiciary is going to make it favorable for a state charge prosecution because the federal government is not going to want to set precedent by allowing its agents to be subject to the state. Therefore, charges would likely be tossed.
strange this is coming out so quickly after Holder got contempt of Congress...do ya think?
“Agent Terry served his country honorably and made the ultimate sacrifice in trying to protect it from harm, and we will stop at nothing to bring those responsible for his murder to justice,” said Attorney General Eric Holder.
So who is stoppiung you from turning yourself in, Eric.
Jesus Rosario #2 also seems to have lost his ears somewhere!
Five charged. Four pictured...until your post! Holder must be number 5!
I’m afraid this will just take the heat off the seat that needs to have the heat.
Living in Arizona, I see these mug shots a lot and I always notice this. The cartel thugs don't look Mexican as in Indian-Mexican or Aztec-Mexican. They look European with Spanish names. Anyone know why that is? It makes me wonder if they're all South American and not Mexican citizens at all. I do have a neighbor who is from an upperclass family in Guadalajara and he has gray eyes... but even he looks more Indian-Mexican from a distance.
The non-lethal rounds rule mirrors AZ’s Dept. of Corrections; the first rounds are always non-lethal. DOC calls ‘em knee-knockers.
Brian Terry had 00 Buckshot in reserve but didn’t have time to load those rounds before he was hit. That information was part of the news reports almost immediately in Dec. ‘10; but was rarely mentioned again as this all played out over the last 18 months.
I totally agree.
"All of a sudden Eric Holder is getting off his a** and doing something?
I'm afraid the only thing Holder is doing with this is creating a smoke screen. The suspects have been indicted on capital crimes. I think we have already gone around with Mexico about executing Mexican nationals. If these persons are aprehended, they is NO WAY the Mexican government will extradite them as long as they face the possibility of the death penalty. And Holder knows it.
Of course, if arrested, these guys will be able to calculate their life expectancy in a Mexican prison in nano-seconds. So Holder will accomplish the dual purpose of seeming to do something, and permanently gagging the witnesses. Dead men tell no tales.
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