Sweet, Glorious Justice - Final Conviction in Gang Murder of American Hero Has Been Decided
An American hero has finally received his justice.
A seventh suspect has been sentenced in the killing of Border Patrol agent and Marine Corps veteran Brian Terry.
Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga will serve 50 years in federal prison, according to a Justice Department news release.
The 41-year-old pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree murder in Terry’s death.
JUSTICE SERVED FOR A HERO! The last of those responsible was sentenced today for his part in the murder of Agent Brian Terry. Detroit Sector supports the family and friends of Agent Terry in this continued time of healing. #HonorFirst #HERO pic.twitter.com/rNcyUcXm7F
— Chief Patrol Agent Robert Danley (@USBPChiefDTM) September 21, 2022
As a condition of his guilty plea, the Mexican national admitted to entering the United States as a member of an international criminal gang with the intention of robbing drug smugglers who were themselves infiltrating the southern border.
The bandit gang entered the United States as illegal aliens.
Terry was a member of a team that sought to apprehend the thieves, who were armed with AK and AR-style semiautomatic rifles.
The criminals opened fire at the police when the Border Patrol agents sought to arrest them in a rural area north of Nogales, Arizona, according to the Justice Department.
Favela-Astorga successfully fled back to Mexico after a shootout with the agents in which Terry was killed.
Three other members of the gang escaped, preceding an international effort to secure their extradition that came to fruition years after the murder.
Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes, Ivan Soto-Barraza and Jesus Lionel Sanchez-Meza — three members of the gang previously extradited to the United States — were sentenced to life in prison in separate proceedings since 2015. The previous conviction in the case earned Osorio-Arellanes a life sentence in 2020, according to the Justice Department.
The Justice Department said that Favela-Astorga is the last defendant they expect to sentence for Terry’s murder.
Federal authorities determined that Terry had been murdered with a rifle that was transported to Mexico through President Barack Obama’s “Fast and Furious” program.
In spite of Terry’s death, organized and international criminal activity has only grown in volume at the southern border, with President Joe Biden reversing the border security accomplishments of Donald Trump’s administration.
Sources familiar with the Border Patrol have described the organization as an agency in crisis during Biden’s tenure, according to Fox News.
More illegal immigrants infiltrated the southern border in Fiscal Year 2021 than in previous years. However, FY 2022 has already surpassed that record, according to the Center for Immigration Studies.
Three spouses of Border Patrol agents are running for Congress on a border security platform in the November midterms, pointing to Biden’s porous border as a blight upon their communities.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
