NEW ORLEANS — Federal prosecutors appear to have “overreacted” in a case against Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting a fleeing drug suspect and hiding evidence, one of three judges considering an appeal said Monday.
Jose Alonso Compean is serving 12 years in prison and Ignacio Ramos 11 years for assault, obstruction of justice and civil rights violations in the wounding of Osvaldo Aldrete Davila on the border near El Paso in 2005. The agents want the convictions thrown out; they claim the shooting was a case of self-defense but acknowledge not reporting the incident.
If the agents had reported the shooting as required, “this prosecution never would have occurred, in all likelihood,” said Judge E. Grady Jolly, part of the three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hearing the case.
Noting the severity of the charges and the lengthy sentences sought, Jolly said, “It does seem to me like the government overreacted here.”
Conservative lawmakers and other critics have called the prosecution unjustified and the sentences extreme. They note Aldrete was given immunity from prosecution for allegedly trying to smuggle drugs the day he was shot, and that jurors weren’t allowed to hear allegations that he smuggled marijuana into the U.S. several months after the shooting.
Aldrete was arrested last month following an October indictment on drug charges.
Another panel member, Judge Patrick Higginbotham, said evidence that Aldrete tried to smuggle drugs “strikes me as very relevant.”
The judges didn’t indicate when they will rule, but Compean’s lawyer, Bob Baskett, said he was encouraged.
Ramos’ attorney, David Botsford, said he didn’t read anything into the judges’ remarks.
“The court is going to follow the law,” he said outside the New Orleans courthouse.
U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton said in a written statement following the hearing that he expects the appeals court to “resolve the disputed legal issues in accordance with the rule of law.”
“Some in the media and on the Internet have tried to portray agents Compean and Ramos as heroes, but that narrative is false,” Sutton said. “The actions of Compean and Ramos in shooting an unarmed, fleeing suspect, destroying evidence and engaging in a coverup are serious crimes.”
During his trial, Compean testified that he shot in self-defense after seeing what he believed to be a gun in Aldrete’s hand. Ramos said he fired in defense of Compean. Aldrete denied having a gun.
