The FACTS show that they almost DID get away with it. Their fellow BP agents weren't turning them in, and they thought they got lucky and didn't hit the guy.
Remember, nobody is disputing that they shot at the guy 15 times.
The only reason they got arrested was that the guy actually WAS hit, and told the story to someone who was related to another BP agent who told the story to that agent, who decided it was the job of a BP agent to report a shooting, so they did.
That BP agent, along with the BP agent who testified against Ramos/Compean, have been villified by the "pro-BP agent" crowd, who might more accurately be called "pro-BP agents who shoot illegals" crowd.
And they also did this:
No sooner had Aldrete-Davila bandaged his buns when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security sent an investigator [into Mexico] to offer Aldrete-Davila immunity for illegally entering the U.S., smuggling the dope and unlawful flight to avoid arrest.http://www.investors.com/editorial/editorialcontent.asp?secid=1501&status=article&id=254017135120661To sweeten the deal, the feds paid for treatment of Aldrete-Davila's injured backside at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso. He showed his gratitude in breaking his immunity agreement by attempting to smuggle an additional 1,000 pounds of weed into the U.S. the following October.
So what did the feds do? U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton extended his immunity to this second felony and then sealed the indictment for this crime from jurors. And what did Aldrete-Davila do? He promptly filed a $5 million lawsuit against the feds who twice granted him immunity.
The jury didn't get to hear about the crimes of the so-called "victim" against our country, or that he was smuggling over 700 pounds of drugs into our country at the time, which makes his claim, days later, that he was "unarmed," dubious, at best.
The more facts that come out in this case, the more it looks like the prosecutor and the feds in this case are actively supporting invading drug-smugglers.