WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN BORDER SHOOTING, AGENTS' CONVICTIONS?

FABENS, Texas - The prairie where it all happened is quiet now. A sign
rests near a muddy ditch, "Stop Illegal Immigration," left behind by
protesters who have visited in homage to two former Border Patrol agents,
imprisoned for shooting a drug smuggler in the backside as he sprinted
toward Mexico.

It seems almost unimaginable that one moment in this lonely place ignited
the furor that rages two years later.

A jury convicted the agents of assault, obstruction of justice and civil
rights violations. A federal judge meted out punishment: 12 years for Jose
Alonso Compean; 11 for Ignacio "Nacho" Ramos. As the two men surrendered
last month, demonstrators took to the streets shrieking: "What kind of
America do we have?"

There have been hateful phone calls to prosecutors, warnings to President
Bush from some fellow Republicans in Congress about taking sides with "the
American people or ... our enemies" - demands for an independent probe and
a pardon.

"Commended illegal immigration heroes," one Web site christened the
convicted officers, whose supporters are disgusted that the so-called
victim - "a doper" - went free, while the agents sit behind bars for "doing
their job."

But what happened that February day in 2005 isn't as black and white as the
us vs. them spin on the airwaves and the Internet, where facts are fleeting
in the ever emotional debate over the nation's borders.

Consider one fact missing from the cyberspace chatter: In the El Paso
Border Patrol sector, where Compean and Ramos were assigned, agents have
fired their weapons 14 times in the line of duty since 2001. Each of those
shootings, except one, was ruled a justifiable use of force, according to
the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Antonio - a "good shoot," in Border
Patrol parlance.

The exception was the Compean-Ramos case. "They knew it was a bad shoot," a
federal prosecutor told jurors at their trial.

This case is different not simply because of the debate it inflamed but, as
an Associated Press review of court documents, transcripts and exhibits
shows, because of what transpired in a few life-changing moments out on
that lonely prairie.

"Did you guys copy? There's a blue van leaving at 76. Going pretty quick."

It was 1:11 p.m. on Feb. 17, 2005, 30 miles east of El Paso in a hamlet of
cotton fields called Fabens.

Agent Compean, a Border Patrol officer for five years, was on the radio
calling in some tripped sensors. He alerted his fellow officers that he
suspected some sort of drug transaction was under way, and the agents of
the Fabens Border Patrol station quickly responded.

Oscar Juarez was in his vehicle not far from the Rio Grande, holding the
line against a group of illegal immigrants waiting for just the right
moment to cross over from Mexico, he would testify at trial.

Nacho Ramos, a 10-year veteran, was having lunch at the station when he
heard the call.

They, and five other agents, responded. Holding the line against illegal
immigrants might be their primary job description, agents would testify,
but taking down a drug load is an event every officer wants credit for.

Juarez followed the van north into Fabens. He hit his overhead lights, but
the van sped up and headed back south toward the border. Ramos joined in
the pursuit.

"We got this baby," Juarez radioed at 1:19 p.m.

The van came to a stop at the edge of a steep sewage ditch. Beyond it,
facing south, was a slight incline, then a levee road and an open vega, or
prairie, about half a football field in length. Beyond the vega: the Rio
Grande, then Mexico.

Ramos pulled up behind the van, followed by Juarez. Compean parked his
truck on the levee road.

The van driver, Osvaldo Aldrete Davila, got out and ran for the canal,
Mexico in his sights.

"Parate! Parate!" Compean shouted, Spanish for "stop."

Compean pointed his shotgun at Aldrete. The driver raised his hands; they
were empty, Compean, Juarez and Aldrete would all agree in statements to
investigators and in court testimony. At least two men - Aldrete and
Compean - reported hearing another agent say, "Hit him." Compean swung his
weapon, Juarez testified, but lost his balance and fell into the ditch,
dropping his shotgun. Aldrete took off, headed for Mexico.

The stories diverge from there.

Juarez testified that he was walking toward the van when he heard shooting,
turned and saw Compean firing his handgun. Compean reloaded, he testified,
fired a few more shots and then dashed into the vega.

Contradicting that, Compean insisted he recovered from his fall and managed
to tackle Aldrete, who threw dirt in his face and took off running again.
Compean said he started shooting because he thought he saw something
"black, shiny" in the suspect's hand. Testimony revealed that Compean fired
about 14 times.

Ramos testified that he heard gunfire, ran into the vega and saw Compean on
the ground. He fired once, he said, because "I believed I saw a gun."

Compean and Ramos walked back toward the drainage ditch. Some 743 pounds of
marijuana were discovered inside the van.

Aldrete testified that he never had any gun or anything "shiny" in his
hands. More striking were the agents' own conflicting stories and actions -
and the trial testimony of other Border Patrol officers.

In a written statement, Compean said Ramos was "standing next to me" when
Ramos took the final shot. At trial, Compean testified that he was on one
knee and getting to his feet when Ramos ran by him and fired, but he said
he didn't see Ramos shoot.

In his statement, Compean said he and Ramos saw Aldrete climbing out of the
Rio Grande into Mexico and he "looked like he was limping." He also
acknowledged, "I think Nacho might have hit him." At trial Ramos testified,
"I didn't see him limping."

Border Patrol policy requires that all weapon discharges be reported
verbally to a supervisor within an hour. Once an agent-involved shooting is
reported, a sector evidence team is dispatched to investigate to allow
supervisors to determine whether the shooting was justified. The FBI is
called. The fired weapon is held for examination.

Border Patrol policy requires that all weapon discharges be reported
verbally to a supervisor within an hour. Once an agent-involved shooting is
reported, a sector evidence team is dispatched to investigate to allow
supervisors to determine whether the shooting was justified. The FBI is
called. The fired weapon is held for examination.