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 A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted Agent Lonnie Swartz for
second-degree murder in the Oct. 10, 2012, shooting death of
16-year-old Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez.
Elena Rodriguez was shot through a fence separating the cities of
Nogales, Arizona - where Swartz was on patrol - and Nogales, Mexico
- where the teen was walking.
Officials have said Elena Rodriguez was throwing rocks over the
border fence at the agents. He was shot multiple times in the back,
according Luis Parra, an Arizona attorney who is representing Elena
Rodriguez's family in a civil suit filed last year.
Parra said to his knowledge it was unprecedented for a Border Patrol
agent to be charged with murder in a cross-border shooting. He said
Swartz has since been suspended without pay and ordered to turn in
his weapon and badge.
 Attorney Sean Chapman, who is representing Swartz, was unavailable
for comment on Thursday. Representatives for U.S. Customs and Border
Protection also could not be immediately reached.
A union representing Border Patrol agents across the U.S. West spoke
out against the charges on Thursday in a post on the union website.
"It is unfortunate that after three years and after being cleared by
multiple local, state and federal agencies, Agent Lonnie Swartz is
now facing criminal charges," Local 2544 of the National Border
Patrol Council said in a statement.
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The union asked that the public to withhold judgment while the
criminal case plays out and said Swartz is innocent.
The civil case, hearings for which are slated for later this year,
is pending in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals after the state
appealed a local ruling that found Elena Rodriguez's family had
legal standing to pursue their case.
The family - Elena Rodriguez's parents, sisters and brother in
Mexico and grandparents, who are U.S. citizens, in Arizona - remains
optimistic, Parra said.
"They are resolute, and they've been very patient for three years.
They're very relieved and grateful that a step toward justice has
been made," he said.
(Editing by Curtis Skinner)
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