Posted on 02/10/2007 2:05:41 PM PST by TheeOhioInfidel
For an agent of the Mexican government, Johnny Sutton speaks pretty good English.
That's the title anti-immigrant zealots hung on the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas after prosecutors in his office convicted ex-Border Patrol agents Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos of shooting 15 times at an unarmed suspect who was running away.
Sentenced to 12 years and 11 years in prison, the former agents are behind bars.
Because the defendants were once Border Patrol agents and because the convictions relied on testimony from the victim - a Mexican drug smuggler who got immunity - the prosecutors have become absolutely toxic in the minds of those who think an invasion is under way and that Border Patrol agents are the sentries against the tide.
Hence the accusation by some that Sutton - along with his bosses, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and President Bush - has become an agent of the Mexican government.
"We just evaluate the facts," Sutton said. "We don't get to choose the facts. We don't get to choose the witnesses. We just have to decide whether a crime was committed and whether it's appropriate that it be prosecuted."
According to the evidence presented at the trial, including the agents' testimony and their statements after the incident, here are the facts.
On Feb. 17, 2005, about 1 p.m., Compean and Ramos were on duty along the U.S.-Mexico border when they observed a suspicious vehicle - a van that turned out to be loaded with 700 pounds of marijuana.
The driver - later identified as Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila - jumped out of the vehicle and tried to run back into Mexico.
Ramos and Compean testified they made a point of looking at the suspect's hands and saw no weapon. Compean fired at least 14 rounds and Ramos fired once.
Ramos wounded the suspect and saw him limp into Mexico. The agents collected the shell casings and filed false reports, trying to cover up the incident.
The case has become a cause célèbre for radio talk-show hosts, anti-immigrant groups, congressional Republicans, Minuteman vigilantes and cable television talkers with a knack for turning ranting into ratings.
The convictions also have been sucked into the wind tunnel of the immigration debate and turned Republican hard-liners into bleeding hearts.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon, wrote a resolution demanding that Bush pardon Compean and Ramos.
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach, has called Bush a "disgrace" and someone who is "on the side of our enemies."
Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Solana Beach - who used to be a lobbyist for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a nativist organization that wants to limit even legal immigration - quipped that, since Bush wants amnesty for 12 million illegal immigrants, he should simply add two more names to the list.
Basically, Bilbray lumped together former Border Patrol agents with illegal immigrants. What would the two have in common? Only Spanish surnames.
Apparently, you can take the congressman out of the nativist group but you can't take the nativism out of the congressman.
I asked Sutton about the insistence by some that this case illustrates the contempt the Bush administration has for border security and the Border Patrol.
"I don't take it too seriously," he said. "I'm a federal prosecutor in charge of prosecuting drugs and immigration for 660 miles of Mexican-Texas border. I'm in the business of locking up illegal aliens who come across and drug smugglers who come across, and so I work with Border Patrol day in and day out."
Sutton said he has a lot of respect for the Border Patrol and its responsibilities.
"They do have a very, very hard job," he said. "And 99.9 percent of them are out there doing it right, abiding by the rules in these very stressful situations, and they're doing just fine. But when you're in those kinds of high-stress situations, you can make big mistakes."
By all accounts, these agents made big mistakes. The same goes for those who are shamelessly using this sad case to advance their own agendas.
"It's just so rare that you have a situation like this," Sutton said. "But (Border Patrol agents) are human beings, and sometimes, just like anyone else, they're going to step over the line, and if they commit crimes, just like everybody else, they're not above the law."
Bush has said he will examine the case and determine if a pardon is warranted.
It isn't.
Navarrette is a columnist for the San Diego Union-Tribune. His e-mail address is ruben.navarrette@uniontrib.com.
You have many facts which not all of us have. Bully for you.
> Am I alone in this bothering me?
No.
The last thing we need is "Don Johnson" being transferred from Miami to El Paso for a new version of "vice".
Thank you so much for the additional information. I tell you I love Free Republic because we have millions of people who have so much information and ensure some of us who lack information get the whole story. I swear we are the best educational institution out there! Even when we disagree we learn so much. I am going to read the information you sent. Thanks again!!!
Funny you should mention that. It's exaclty what they did. They gave the sumggler a "golden ticket border pass" that allowed him to come and go as he pleased, including smuggling in more drugs with it.
How noble of our government to help the poor drug smuggler. He's only smuggling the drugs American's can't be bothered smuggling; he's only trying to feed his family; he's working hard and playing by the rules.
Drug pushers are low life scum who need to be tried and executed when they persist. Foreign drug dealers should be shot on sight, no quarter given to foreigners who try to make a buck off poisoning our children
"God damn The Pusher man"
Your facts are inaccurate. The crime was shooting at, not just hitting, the perp, so the shell casings were evidence (you think that you could shoot at someone and so long as you don't hit them it's OK).
The two supervisors arrived after the shooting, and did not know what had happened. One OTHER BP agent at the scene has resigned, and two others have been fired, for lying about the incident (trying to cover it up), in addition to the convictions of these two agents.
There's a lot of true facts out there, for those who want to go reading for them. The Inspector's report from DHS is now available, it's quite long and has most of the details in it. I haven't made it through much of it yet. Don't have a link handy.
Do you have a link to the published court record?
RJL, investigateworld at post 20 seems to have seen the transcripts, maybe he could tell you where to find them.
Because if too many people are bothered by the facts, things won't work out well for the pro-pardon crowd, unless they can find some actual evidence.
There have been multiple statements made by the two agents. Those statements have not always been consistant. Their current story is that they saw weapons. One of the agents brought up seeing a weapon at a hearing to get his job back, can't remember which, but I think it was Compean.
Yes, because everybody knows if you want to get to the bottom of something, you should get your facts from the father-in-law of the convicted felon.
That is an inaccurate description of the situation, leading up to an event whose occurance is under dispute.
See, here's one of those people who thinks that even if they are guilty they did us a favor shooting the guy.
But of course, as the informed pro-amnesty folks (amnesty for the BP agents) know, at the time they shot at the man, they did not know he was an illegal, OR that he had drugs in his van. All they knew was he was driving a van, he wouldn't stop when they persued him, and then he jumped out and ran toward mexico.
We don't usually shoot people in the head for that.
Nor do we usually use capital punishment for convicted marijuana dealers. Or allow our law enforcement to be judge, jury, and executioner.
The point was, the specific situation he was talking about (in regard to the filing a report) is unclear, and it may be that the supervisors were the ones who were supposed to file the report. Not stating that as a fact, just saying there is conflicting info about that.
Besides, if you're getting your "facts" from the other side, they have already proven to be untrustworthy. Did you miss that little bit about them lying to congress? But hey, if you'd rather believe them, and other crooks, then be my guest.
Being in a charitable mood, I'll point out a couple things I think are not accurate, or are in dispute in a way the article suggests they are not. Only a couple though, you all should do your own work.
On Feb. 17, 2005, about 1 p.m., Compean and Ramos were on duty along the U.S.-Mexico border when they observed a suspicious vehicle
I believe (correct me if I'm wrong), Compean oberved the vehicle, and thought it was suspicious simply because of the road it was on. He radioed for help, which I think is how Ramos (and one other agent) got involved. Compean set up at a known border crossing path, while Ramos and the other agent chased the van in vehicles.
Ramos and Compean testified they made a point of looking at the suspect's hands and saw no weapon. Compean fired at least 14 rounds and Ramos fired once.
I don't remember reading about actual COURT testimony that said this. Maybe "testified" means "told the story", but that isn't a normal usage. When we get the court transcripts, we'll know what they testified to.
The agents collected the shell casings and filed false reports, trying to cover up the incident
Compean picked up most of his casings, I think Ramos forgot, but got another agent to go back and try (maybe that agent only got the rest of Compean's shells, or maybe he got Ramos's as well).
There weren't many facts in this case, mostly a conversation with Sutton. I don't know for certain if the quotes from congressmen were accurate or not, but I think the first two are.
The people who "lied" to congress lied about what evidence they had in reports, and were not involved in the investigation or the trial.
I didn't say you said anything. I was simply noting that we should not get our facts from the father-in-law.
In fact, the supervisors ARE supposed to file the report, not the agents, when there is a shooting, so you were correct about that.
When there is a shooting, they require the shooters to report to the supervisors, so that someone other than the person who did the shooting records what happened -- that makes sense for obvious reasons, and when you don't follow that procedure it can put you in a bad circumstance.
Don't play stooopid. You fool no one. The incident took place on the US-Mexico border and he was crossing illegally
OR that he had drugs in his van.
This was a favorite crossing place for Mexican drug pushers. Vans there usually have drugs or a cargo of illegal aliens
The man was in fact a foreign drug pusher and he got shot in the butt
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.