TUCSON, Oct. 2 (UPI) — An Arizona jury found two men guilty of killing U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry using guns from the botched so-called Fast and Furious operation.
Jesus Leonel Sanchez-Meza and Ivan Soto-Barraza, both from Mexico were found guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, conspiracy, attempted robbery, a firearms violation and four counts of assaulting a federal officer Thursday after a week-long trial.
The convicted men were part of a five-person so-called “rip crew” who entered the United States illegally to with the intent of robbing drug smugglers, but encountered a Border Patrol detail near Rio Rico, Ariz. Terry was shot to death in the ensuing gun battle.
Two guns found at the shooting site were traced back to the federal Fast and Furious operation in which law enforcement sold firearms to known criminals in order to track where they went. Federal agents lost some 1,400 guns in the program.
One member of the crew involved in Terry’s shooting pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. Another, the organizer who was not present at the incident, also pleaded guilty and was scheduled to be sentenced. Two others, including one who prosecutors believe fired the bullet that killed Terry, remain at large.
Prosecutors based their case on the theory of “felony murder,” under which a victim died while a felony, attempted robbery, was committed. Sanchez-Mesa and Soto-Barraza were found guilty of all counts.
