April 14 (UPI) — A fifth member of the Mexican “rip crew” suspected in the 2010 murder of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry has been arrested, the Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday.
Cartel member Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes, 38, was captured Wednesday in Mexico with help from Customs and Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the DEA and U.S. Marshals, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said in a statement.
“Four members of the ‘rip crew’ have already been sentenced to jail time in the U.S,” Kelly said. “The last remaining member of the ‘rip crew’ is believed to still be at large.”
Terry and three other Border Patrol agents were on duty in a section of Peck Canyon near Rio Rico, Ariz., on Dec. 14, 2010, when they encountered a heavily armed six-man team that had allegedly sneaked across the border and was headed to rob marijuana dealers. Their illegal operation was known as a “rip crew,” U.S. authorities said.
According to court documents, one of the agents shouted “Police!” in English and Spanish, and fired nonlethal beanbag rounds. The rip crew responded with gunfire.
Terry, 40, was struck by a single bullet and mortally wounded. One of the crew members was shot in the torso. The other Mexicans fled back across the border.
The Naco, Ariz., Border Patrol station was renamed after Terry in 2012.
U.S. authorities are working with Mexican officials to have Osorio-Arellanes extradited, CNN reported.
“My hope is that this arrest will mark a significant step in bringing closure to Agent Terry’s family and his colleagues and friends at DHS,” Kelly said. “The thoughts and prayers of the entire DHS family continue to be with the Terrys.”
