Show caption A portrait of José Antonio Elena Rodríguez, 16, who was shot and killed by US border patrol agent Lonnie Swartz. Photograph: Anita Snow/AP Arizona Border agent not guilty of involuntary manslaughter in Mexican boy’s death Arizona jury find Lonnie Swartz not guilty of the involuntary manslaughter but didn’t decide on voluntary manslaughter Associated Press in Phoenix Wed 21 Nov 2018 21.33 GMT Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share via Email 1 year old

An Arizona jury has acquitted a US border patrol agent of manslaughter in the shooting of a 16-year old Mexican boy José Antonio Elena Rodríguez through a border fence, another loss for federal prosecutors in the second trial over the 2012 killing.

Jurors in Tucson found Lonnie Swartz not guilty of the involuntary manslaughter but didn’t come to a decision on voluntary manslaughter.

The verdict comes months after Swartz was acquitted of second-degree murder by another jury that had deadlocked on manslaughter charges, allowing prosecutors to pursue the case again.

“We fully respect the jury’s decision, and we thank every member of the jury for the time and attention given to this trial,” Elizabeth A Strange, first assistant US attorney for the district of Arizona, said in a statement. “This was a difficult case, and I commend the trial team and law enforcement officers who assisted in the prosecution.”

Border patrol agents are rarely criminally charged for using force. But the killing of Elena Rodríguez sparked outrage on both sides of the border and came at a time when the agency was increasingly scrutinized for its use of force.

Prosecutors said Swartz was frustrated over repeated encounters with people on the Mexico side of the border fence who throw rocks at agents to distract them from smugglers. They say he lost his cool and fatally shot Elena Rodríguez. Swartz fired about 16 rounds, and the boy was hit at least 10 times in the back and head.

Swartz has said he was following his training and defending himself and other law enforcement officers from rocks, which he said could be deadly.

Prosecutors acknowledge that Elena Rodríguez was throwing rocks at agents while two smugglers made their way back to Mexico, but they said that wasn’t justification for taking his life.

Swartz’s attorney, Sean Chapman, said Elena Rodríguez endangered the lives of the agents and a police officer who was on scene.

Chapman didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the verdict, which came in just hours after jurors told a judge that they were deadlocked. The judge told them to keep deliberating.

The verdict comes as Donald Trump has deployed troops to the border to support US authorities in response to a migrant caravan from Central America. The troops have been given authority to protect border patrol agents and other personnel, even though there have been no instances of violence against US authorities.

Swartz still faces a civil rights lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the teen’s mother.