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Tucson, AZ: Murder Acquittal for Border Agent Who Shot Mexican Teen

HeadlineApr 24, 2018

In Tucson, Arizona, a federal jury has acquitted Border Patrol agent Lonnie Swartz on murder charges, nearly six years after he shot and killed a 16-year-old Mexican teenager. José Antonio Rodríguez was unarmed and walking along a sidewalk in Nogales, Sonora, when Swartz fired on him through the border wall from the U.S. side. An autopsy shows Rodríguez was shot 10 times—with two bullets in his head and eight in his back. Swartz was cleared Monday of second-degree murder, while the jury deadlocked on two lesser manslaughter charges; prosecutors said after the trial they were considering whether to bring a new manslaughter trial against Swartz. Following the verdict, scores of protesters marched from the courthouse and blocked busy intersections in downtown Tucson.

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