AGENT SAYS HE 'MESSED UP'

EL PASO, Texas A U.S. Border Patrol agent accused of wounding a suspected
drug smuggler and then trying to cover up the crime testified Thursday that
he made a mistake by not reporting the shooting.

"I just messed up," Agent Ignacio Ramos told the jury in federal court
Thursday. "I was just worried about a lot of other things. I was full of
adrenaline ... I was worried about a lot of other things."

Ramos and Agent Jose Alonso Compean are accused of shooting and wounding a
Mexican national and not reporting it.

When questioned by a prosecutor, Ramos testified he didn't see any physical
confrontation between Osvlado Aldrete Davila and Compean but assumed there
had been since he found Compean on the ground after hearing several shots
fired.

Ramos said he didn't stop to help Compean, who he initially feared had been
shot, before chasing Aldrete on foot and firing a single shot because he
was concerned that Aldrete was still a threat.

"If I stop to help him, I'm leaving myself vulnerable ... that means two
agents are down," Ramos said. "I can't take care of that agent if the
threat harms me."

After repeated questions from Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Kanof, Ramos
also acknowledged that he never used his two-way radio to report that shots
were fired or that an officer was down.