August 1 (UPI) — A Mexican citizen suspected in the 2010 shooting death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent has been extradited to the United States to face murder charges, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes is charged with the first-degree murder of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. He was arrested by Mexican authorities on April 12, 2017, and extradited to the United States this week. On Wednesday, he will be arraigned in U.S. District Court in Tucson, Ariz.
Prosecutors said Osorio-Arellanes was part of a human smuggling crew operating in a rural area north of Nogales, Ariz., on the night of Dec. 14, 2010, when they became involved in a firefight with Border Patrol agents.
In addition to the murder charge for Terry’s death that night, the indictment accuses Osorio-Arellanes of assaulting Border Patrol Agents William Castano, Gabriel Fragoza and Timothy Keller.
Osorio-Arellanes is one of seven people suspected in Terry’s death. Of the other six, three have already pleaded guilty, and two were convicted following a jury trial.
Manuel Osorio Arellanes pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in 2014 and was sentenced to 30 years. Rosario Burboa Alvarez also pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 27 years the following year.
Lionel Portillo Meza and Ivan Soto Barraza were recently found guilty of first-degree murder and have yet to be sentenced.
Rito Osorio Arellanes, who was not at the scene of the December 2010 shooting, pleaded guilty in 2013 to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and was sentenced to eight years, the Arizona Daily Star reported.
Another defendent — Jesus Rosario Favela Astorga – was arrested by Mexican authorities in October 2017 and is awaiting extradition to the United States.
