Related articles: Legal defense fund started for convicted Texas Border Patrol agents, Chief of border patrol will not criticize agents’ prosecution for wounding smuggler
By Graeme Zielinski
The San Antonio Express-News
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — A panel of federal appellate judges on Monday affirmed the convictions and lengthy sentences handed to two Border Patrol agents who in 2005 shot an unarmed and fleeing dope dealer then engaged in a cover-up to hide their crimes.
Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean, whose names since have become embedded in the broader and often acrimonious debate about illegal immigration from over the Mexican border, were convicted by a federal jury in 2006 and were sentenced to 11 and 12 years, respectively, for shooting Osvaldo Aldrete Davila, a Mexican national.
Ramos and Compean, currently in federal prison, had hinged their appeal in part on their argument that they weren’t allowed to introduce damaging information about Aldrete, who since has been convicted of smuggling drugs even after he was shot near El Paso.
He’s been jailed awaiting sentencing Aug. 6.
The appeal for the border agents was argued before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last December, and Monday’s order did vacate some of the convictions, such as tampering with an official proceeding.
“However, this may not be of much moment to Ramos and Compean because we leave the major conviction with the major sentence ... untouched,” the opinion said.
If the order stands, the two would still serve at least 10 years.
The panel found that the jury properly heard the evidence against the pair and that everything was conducted fairly.
“The government’s evidence, if believed, is sufficient to uphold the convictions. And that is pretty close to the bottom line,” the opinion said.
The case has made U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton the focus of criticism from anti-immigrant groups and such figures as CNN’s Lou Dobbs, who accuse him of coddling drug dealers. Sutton has expressed frustration over the way the prosecution and post-conviction phases have been portrayed, even while his office is among the leaders nationally in drug and immigration prosecutions.
The three judges on the panel, including San Antonio’s Edward Prado, are highly respected, making an appeal to the judges of the entire panel less likely, said University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias.
“It’s a long shot,” Tobias said of the likelihood for success down the line.
T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, the union which represents Border Patrol agents and has contributed to Ramos’ and Compean’s defense, said, “We will continue this fight until the last appeal runs out.”
Bonner said the panel erred.
“They engaged in the same type of circular logic that the U.S. Attorney for the Western District has been engaging in all along,” he said.
Copyright 2008 The San Antonio Express-News