Monday, July 9, 2012

Indictment In Brian Terry Murder Unsealed

The Justice Department today unsealed the indictment for the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. The FBI also announced a $1 million reward for information leading to the four men who were indicted that are not in custody. Two others are already in Federal custody and have been for some time.




When asked about the unsealing of the indictment, Chairman Issa applauded the unsealing of it but questioned the timing of it. He thought the release of it now was an effort to divert attention from the House's contempt citation of Attorney General Eric Holder.

From the Fox News report by William LaJeunesse and Megyn Kelly:
The 11-count indictment, originally handed up by a grand jury in November 2011, implicates five defendants in the killing. A sixth suspect has also been charged in a related incident.

The two men in custody are Manuel Osario Arellanes -- who was wounded in the foot the night of the firefight -- and his brother Rito. Rito, who was arrested two nights before the Terry shooting, allegedly helped provide weapons to the criminal gang used in the shooting. All six men named in the indictment are either related or friends.

The other four are believed to be hiding out in Mexico, and the U.S. is now offering a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to their arrest. They are: Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga; Ivan Soto-Barraza; Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes; and Lionel Portillo-Meza.
The indictment charges Manuel Osario-Arellanes, Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga, Ivan Soto-Barraza, Heraclio Orsorio-Arellanes, and Lionel Portillo-Meza with 1st Degree Murder, 2nd Degree Murder, Robbery, four counts of Assault on a Federal Officer, and Using and Carrying a Firearm during a Crime of Violence.

The indictment names all of the five men above plus Rito Orsorio-Arellanes with Conspiracy to Interfere with Commerce by Robbery. The indictment also charges Manuel Osario-Arellanes with two counts of a Felon in Possession of a Firearm. Finally, the indictment seeks forfeiture of the two AKs that have been linked to Operation Fast and Furious plus ammunition. The ammo to be forfeited includes boxes of 7.62x39 as might be expected plus a box of .45 ACP and two boxes of .223. You have to wonder if any of the firearms that used the latter were part of Operation Fast and Furious.

I have embedded the full unsealed indictment below:


USA v. Manuel Osario Arellanes et al

3 comments:

  1. My only question, why were NONE of the people who 'walked' these guns listed in the indictment???

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  2. @Old NFO: Good question. I'd say they were part of a conspiracy as well as being accessories before the fact. But then again, I'm not a Federal prosecutor nor a lawyer.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Info strikes deeply in the mind.Thanks for sharing the blog.
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    ReplyDelete