MARSHAL MAY FACE FELONY CHARGE

A Grand Jury Will Get The Case Of A Man Shot While Federal Agents Were
Looking For Someone Else

HILLSBOROUGH -- A federal agent who shot an unarmed man outside a Chapel
Hill restaurant March 12 fired on the man while he was seated in his Jeep,
a state investigation has revealed.

That information, released by the district attorney Thursday, seems to
conflict with the U.S. marshal's earlier account that he discharged his gun
after the man he mistook for a fugitive "took a threatening action."

"I was not satisfied that [the shooting] was justified," said Carl Fox,
Orange-Chatham district attorney. "So I decided to submit it to the grand
jury."

Christopher William Sweeney, the 35-year-old deputy U.S. marshal who fired
the gun, could go to trial on charges of assault with a deadly weapon
inflicting serious injury -- a felony that could end his career in law
enforcement and send him to prison for up to 2 1/2 years.

Sweeney will face a grand jury June 25 in Hillsborough. If the 18 members
return an indictment, the marshal will be charged in Orange County Superior
Criminal Court.

Shortly after the shooting, the State Bureau of Investigation performed a
re-enactment, which showed the federal agent shot Bariel Aguilar Martinez
while the Durham house painter was seated in his Jeep.

Aguilar, who was hit just above the knee, was treated at UNC Hospitals and
released.

"We have always contended that Mr. Aguilar did nothing wrong and that the
shooting was not justified," said Jay Ferguson, Aguilar's attorney. "I
applaud Mr. Fox's efforts to seek justice on Mr. Aguilar's behalf."

The fugitive whom marshals had sought that night was arrested at 3 p.m.
Thursday as he left a house in Graham, said Dave Griffith, chief deputy
U.S. marshal for the state's Middle District in Greensboro. Luis Guzman was
wanted on a federal warrant charging him with conspiracy to distribute more
than five kilograms of cocaine.

While Griffith agrees that Aguilar was shot while inside his Jeep, he says
the circumstances leading up to the shooting are disputable. "We maintain
that it was an unfortunate incident," Griffith said, "that our officer felt
in danger for his life."

Details of what happened March 12 remain cloudy. The U.S. Marshal's Office
in Greensboro will not release the results of its internal investigation
until the probe is complete, Griffith said.

What is known, according to Chapel Hill police reports and interviews with
officials familiar with the case, is that about 7 p.m., Sweeney told Chapel
Hill police that he and two fugitive task force officers from Greensboro
were in their jurisdiction. They had been told that Guzman, a Mexican
national who drove a blue Jeep Cherokee, would be at La Hacienda, 1813
Chapel Hill Blvd., between 8:15 and 9 p.m.

At some point between 8 and 9 p.m., the federal agents decided to give up
on arresting Guzman. Then a blue Jeep Cherokee, driven by Aguilar, pulled
into the parking lot. Aguilar's wife, Carmen, was in the passenger seat,
and a son and daughter were along for the ride. Aguilar, a Hispanic man who
speaks limited English, was picking up pictures of his daughter that a
restaurant employee had taken at a church celebration.

Because the vehicle matched the description of Guzman's Jeep, the agents
blocked the automobile from the rear and ordered Aguilar to get out. Then,
according to the marshal's report, as Aguilar opened the door, he "took a
threatening action." Griffith declined to describe the gesture, saying it
was part of the investigation.

Sweeney fired his gun and hit Aguilar just above the knee. An agent then
pushed Aguilar to the ground and handcuffed him. Another agent rushed
around to the passenger side of the Jeep and held Aguilar's wife at
gunpoint, Ferguson said.

By the time Chapel Hill officers arrived on the scene, police have said,
one agent was handcuffing Aguilar and another was near the passenger side
of the vehicle. Chapel Hill officers helped secure the scene while the
marshals waited for agents from the State Bureau of Investigation to arrive
to investigate the shooting.

Sweeney has been a law enforcement officer for eight years and a deputy
U.S. marshal for five. As is normal procedure for this type of situation,
he has been assigned administrative work since the shooting, Griffith said.

"This has been a very traumatic time for us," Griffith said. "When someone
gets injured who's an innocent victim, that really bothers us because
that's contrary to what we got into this business for."

Regardless of the grand jury's decision, Ferguson plans to continue the
case in civil court.

"Obviously," he said, "we will attempt to seek compensation on behalf of
Mr. Aguilar."