The family of slain Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry said they were disgusted and disappointed by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ recent decision to overturn the conviction of the man charged with killing the agent. The court vacated the conviction of Heracrio Osorio Arellanes four years after an Arizona district court convicted him of killing Agent Terry on December 14, 2010.
“We are disgusted by this overturning of the conviction and how the government is handling this case,” Terry’s sister, Michelle Terry Barrow, told Breitbart Texas. “Osorio Arellano has confessed to being involved and present in my brother’s death. He was part of a robbery ring that was robbing other drug smugglers on U.S. territory with firearms issued to him by the previous administration.”
Federal prosecutors charged Jesus Rosario Favela Astorga with first-degree murder in connection with the killing of Border Patrol Agent Terry in southern Arizona on December 14, 2010, Breitbart Texas reported at the time of the trial. Agent Terry, a member of the Border Patrol’s BORTAC team, had deployed with fellow agents to an area where Mexican “rip crews” were raiding migrants and drug smugglers. When the agents encountered the crews, Agent Terry was fatally wounded in a shootout.
Investigators concluded that one of the weapons found at Terry’s murder scene was linked to a “Fast and Furious” gun-smuggling scheme that took place during the Obama-Biden administration. So far, no federal officials have been held accountable for their involvement in the scheme.
“The government has once again let our family down, first by denying the Fast and the Furious’ involvement in gun smuggling, and now by overturning a life sentence for first-degree murder of a federal agent. We urge U.S. prosecutors to reopen this case and obtain another first-degree conviction.”
“This is a case of two people being arrested for a crime,” said Agent John Dodson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Full Measure with Sharyl Atkison, “When Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was murdered, I quickly became aware that our department was attempting to cover up the connection between the investigation and the tactics we employed and Agent Terry’s death.”
Kelly Terry Willis, another of Agent Terry’s sisters, told Breitbart, “We are disappointed by the overturning of this conviction, which has prolonged our family’s suffering and prevented closure. The defendant’s illegal entry into the country and the events of Operation Fast and Furious underscore the critical need for a strong national security policy.”
A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the confession obtained from Osorio-Arellanes was obtained while he was being held in a Mexico City prison. The court ruled that the confessions were made in violation of the defendants’ Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights, Border Watch Daily reported. Reported. In its judgment, attached below, the Court stated that the Mexican lawyers representing the defendants in Mexico City failed to provide effective advice.
The appeals court said the ruling “does not determine Mr. Osorio’s ultimate responsibility for his actions. The government can still retry the case.”
“We demand that justice prevail in the justice system and that defendants are held accountable for their actions,” Kelly Terry Willis added. “Our country is not safer under a Biden/Harris administration. They have opened the door to many dangerous people and are putting our agents and the American people at risk.”
The appeals court’s decision “does not determine Mr. Osorio’s ultimate responsibility for his actions. The government can still retry the case.”
Editor’s Note: The case is United States v. Heraclio Oscorio-Arellanes, a.k.a. Laco, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, DC No. 4:11-cr-00150-DCB-LCK-4.
Bob Price Price is deputy editor and senior news contributor for Breitbart Texas Border Team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a reporter for Fox 26 Houston. What is your argument? Sunday Morning He also serves as chairman of the talk show. Blue Wonder Cancer Care Products.
Brian Terry murder case: 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision
