Politics & Government
Border Agent Trial Update: Jury Says: Not Guilty Of Murder
The jury in federal court in Tucson said Lonnie Swartz was not guilty of murder but could not reach a verdict on the charge of manslaughter.
TUSCON, AZ – A jury in federal court in Tucson says that Border Agent Lonnie Swartz is not guilty of murder in the killing of a teen that he shot across the border with Mexico. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the charge of manslaughter.
The decision brought to an end the rare case of a border agent being charged in connection with firing across the border. The jury announced their verdict Monday after deliberating for almost a week.
The trial had lasted almost a month.
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Swartz had fired across the border in 2015, striking and killing 16-year-old Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez. (Get Tucson Patch's daily newsletter and real-time news alerts. Or, find your local Patch here and subscribe).
While the agent maintained that Rodriguez had been throwing rocks and that Swartz was acting in self-defense, prosecutors charged that he had used an unreasonable amount of force.
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