1 QUITS, 2 OTHER BORDER AGENTS FIGHT FOR JOBS

After Testifying In Ramos-Compean Case

The shooting of a fleeing drug smuggler near Fabens in 2005 landed two
former El Paso Border Patrol agents in prison and El Paso in the
middle of a national firestorm.

Now, another agent has quit to avoid termination over the same
incident, and two more are fighting termination.

The three agents -- Oscar JuA!rez, Art Vasquez and David Jacquez --
testified for the prosecution in the case of Ignacio Ramos and Jose
Alonso Compean, in exchange for immunity.

Ramos and Compean were convicted last year of violating the civil
rights of the smuggler and of tampering with evidence for not
reporting the shooting and because Compean picked up shell casings.
Ramos was sentenced to 11 years in prison and Compean was sentenced to
12. They started serving their time last month.

The case drew ire from conservative activists such as Minutemen groups
and from conservative elected officials in California and elsewhere
who have asked President Bush to pardon the agents.

week created a resolution supporting a pardon for the agents because
the group felt the prison terms were too harsh.

And on Sunday, as part of widespread support for Ramos and Compean,
members of the American Freedom Riders biker organization had a rally
at Chubby's Bar and Chill on the East Side. More than 250 people
participated.

A recently released report by the Department of Homeland Security
Office of the Inspector General found that Ramos and Compean
repeatedly lied about the shooting.

But the report, as well as testimony at trial, also shows that they
were hardly the only ones hiding the truth.

Agents JuA!rez, Vasquez and Jacquez first told investigators that they
hadn't seen or heard of the shooting.

The agents won't be prosecuted, but they now face termination, said
T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, a union.

Doug Mosier, spokesman for the Border Patrol in El Paso, said the
agency is not allowed to discuss personnel matters.

Bonner said the Border Patrol had started termination proceedings for
the three agents in January for "falsification and untruthful testimony."

JuA!rez has quit his job, Bonner said, but the two other agents are
fighting their termination. They are on paid leave. The union, which
has supported Ramos and Compean, has not determined whether to
represent the other three agents at arbitration, Bonner said.

Another six agents and supervisors were connected to the shooting,
although most came to the river levee after the incident and did not
see or hear shots fired.

JuA!rez testified at trial that he saw the shooting. He said there was
no scuffle between Compean and the smuggler, Osvaldo Aldrete Davila,
as Compean had told investigators. He also said he didn't see a gun on
Aldrete Davila as the smuggler briefly surrendered before taking off
to Mexico.

Vasquez testified that Compean asked him to pick up shell casings
after the shooting, which he did. He found five casings that Compean
had missed, threw them in a ditch and reported his actions to Compean,
he said under oath. Jacquez did not witness the shooting but was told
about it later by Compean, the report shows.

Testimony at trial highlighted the fact that the three officers were
junior to Ramos and Compean, and had been reticent to go against
senior agents.

"I'm the new guy. How can I do that to them," JuA!rez said at
trial.

The agents said Compean and Ramos never mentioned that the smuggler
looked like he had a gun during or after the shooting. The inspector
general's report concluded that the testimonies of the three agents
and that of Aldrete Davila matched, while Compean and Ramos
contradicted each other at trial.

Family members of Ramos and Compean have said they believe the three
agents were pressured to say what the prosecution wanted them to say
in order to get immunity.

The drug smuggler also lied to investigators at first, omitting the
drugs from his retelling of the incident.

The inspector general's report explains that a wounded Aldrete Davila
was speaking to investigators on the phone with family members nearby.
He only said he was crossing illegally into the United States. He "did
not want them to hear that he had been shot while smuggling marijuana
into the U.S. Therefore, (Aldrete Davila) lied," the report read.

The report provided an insight into the difficult work of federal
investigators, who had to sift through the comments.

Investigators reviewed taped radio transmissions of the date of the
shooting but found nothing wrong. There was no written report of a
shooting, either.

When Aldrete Davila "finally told ... the truth" in exchange for
immunity from prosecution, the report said, he gave the agents a
crucial piece of information -- that he had been driving a gray van
filled with marijuana.

Agents were able to find a report of the drug seizure -- 700 pounds of
marijuana found in a gray van Feb. 17, 2005 -- and started
interviewing agents mentioned in it. This finally led to Ramos,
Compean, JuA!rez, Vasquez and Jacquez.