Lonnie Swartz on trial for second-degree murder of José Antonio Elena Rodríguez, who was unarmed and on Mexico side of the border

A US border patrol agent accused of shooting across the border into Mexico and killing a teenager five years ago will go on trial on Tuesday on a charge of second-degree murder in a rare justice department prosecution of a fatal cross-border shooting.

The agent, Lonnie Swartz, is accused of killing 16-year-old José Antonio Elena Rodríguez, who was on the street in Nogales, in the Mexican state of Sonora, just across the border from Nogales, Arizona. An autopsy showed the unarmed teen was hit 10 times, mostly from behind.

The trial in US district court in Tucson comes amid Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and his pledge to build a “big, beautiful wall” along the 2,000-mile (3,200km) US-Mexico boundary.

Justice for José? Border shooting of Mexican teen raises constitutional issue Read more

Swartz opened fire at about 11.30pm on 10 October 2012 through the metal poles of a 20ft (6-meter) fence that sits on a 25ft (about 7.6-meter) embankment above Mexico’s Calle Internacional, a street lined with homes and small businesses.

The killing shocked the two communities of Nogales. About 20,000 people live on the Arizona side and about 300,000 live on the Mexico side, but the two communities linked by family members, trade and culture have long been referred to locally as Ambos Nogales – Both Nogales in Spanish.

Swartz’s defense lawyers have said Elena Rodríguez threw rocks just before he was shot as an attempt to create a distraction for a drug smuggling attempt and that the officer was justified in using lethal force. They want jurors to visit the site at night to experience the area after dark.

Witnesses from the Mexico side of the border said they did not see the teen throw rocks and his relatives have denied he was helping drug smugglers, saying he was walking home after playing basketball.

The US attorney’s office has said it will not dispute that the boy was throwing rocks, but it is unknown if he had any link to drug smugglers and the point is irrelevant because an unreasonable amount of force was used.

Swartz pleaded not guilty after being indicted by a federal grand jury in 2015 and is currently on administrative leave and free on his own recognizance. The border patrol has not said if he is continuing to receive his salary.

The case is expected to last more than a month and activists who support immigrants have said they will protest outside the court.

“For so long, prosecutors have been reluctant to charge border patrol agents with violent crimes,” said John Fife, a retired Presbyterian minister who was active in the sanctuary movement that sheltered citizens of Central American countries who came to the US in the 1980s fleeing civil war. “Now we will see if they can be held accountable.”

The border patrol came under close scrutiny during the Obama administration for allegations of excessive use of force. Customs and Border Protection, its parent agency, reported 55 incidents in which employees used firearms from 1 October 2011 to 30 September 2012. The number of incidents fell to 17 for the period from 1 October 2016 to 30 September 2017.