NEGLIGENCE ALLEGED IN FATAL BORDER SHOOTING

Inquiry: a congressional report criticizes the Marines and Border Patrol in
the death of a young goatherd(sic).

Washington-U.S. Marines and Border Patrol officials were negligent in the
death of a young man who was tending his family's goats when he was shot by
an anti-drug surveillance patrol on the U.S.-Mexico border,according to a
congressional report released Thursday.

The report said Marines involved in the incident failed to give emergency
aid to Esequiel Hernandez Jr., 18, who died about a half-hour after the May
20, 1997, shooting.

The 249-page report "tells the story of how two powerful federal agencies
... were negligent in the shooting and killing" of Hernandaez, said Rep.
Lamar Smith, chairman of the House Judiciary subcommittee on immigration.

"Both agencies made serious mistakes that contributed to this terrible
tragedy," said Smith, R-Texas.

He also accused the Justice and Defense departments of not disclosing
information about the deadly encounter near the Rio Grande.

"They withheld necessary information that had the effect of seriously
crippling any possibility of finding the truth in a criminal investigation,"
Smith said.

The Justice Department issued a statement Thursday night saying it shared
evidence with Texas prosecutors "to the extend permitted by law." The
Marines released a statement saying that while the death "was tragic," there
was no criminal wrongdoing and the patrol "complied with the rules of
engagement and acted to protect a fellow Marine."

Earlier this year, the Hernandez family agreed to a $1.9 million
out-of-court settlement over the death.

Conclusions in the congressional report mirror those reached earlier this
year in an inquiry conducted for the Marines by retired Maj. Gen. J.T.Coyne.

Coyne found the four-man Marine patrol was inadequately trained for the
mission, lacked thorough knowledge of the area, and had poor communications
with their superiors, who were 70 miles away. The report also questioned the
use of troops for law-enforcement purposes on U.S. soil.

The Justice Department also investigated whether there were civil-rights
violations involved in the shooting, but the probe was closed without public
comment.

Documents obtained by congressional investigators show that Justice
Department attorneys believed Hernandez's wounds and statements by Lance
Cpl. Ronald Wieler Jr., who was part of the patrol, contradict the claim
that the shooting was an act of self defense.

Cpl. Clemente Banuelos told investigators that Hernandez raised a
.22-caliber rifle to fire at one member of the patrol. Banuelos said he
fired to protect the Marine.

The autopsy and information gathered by Texas Tangers and FBI agents,
however, question whether the goat herder was raising a rifle to fire at the
Marines, who were camouflaged in shredded burlap and facial paints, "or
raising his hands to surrender," the congressional report said.

The shooting took place on the outskirts Hernandez's hometown of Redford, an
agricultural town in the sparsely populated Big Bend region of west Texas.

The congressional documents also show that the Justice Department sought
immunity for the Marines to protect them from state prosecutors who wanted
to take the shooting before a grand jury.

The shooting subsequently went before state and federal grand juries, but
neither issued an indictment.

Smith said the congressional investigation did not look into whether the
four Marines were criminally responsible for the death. Banuelos has since
received an honorable discharge.

The Marine Corps has reprimanded supervisory personnel over the incident and
criticized the lack of training and preparations that the four men were
given.

"The Justice Department should do its job right and hold accountable those
responsible for this needless death," Smith said.

Checked-by: Don Beck