F.B.I. Finds No Evidence of Attack in Death of Border Agent
An F.B.I. investigation into the mysterious death of a Border Patrol agent found unconscious off a remote West Texas highway in November has been unable to determine how he was injured, though the bureau said on Wednesday that it had found no evidence suggesting he had been attacked.
In a statement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said it could not find anyone who had witnessed the episode in which the agent, Rogelio Martinez, was killed besides his partner, Stephen Garland, who survived but has no recollection of what happened.
“This investigation has not conclusively determined how Mr. Martinez and his partner ended up at the bottom of the culvert and no suspects have been linked to this incident,” the F.B.I. said.
Just hours after the agents, who had been on duty, were found in a dark culvert off Interstate 10, about 100 miles east of El Paso, politicians seized on the news as a flash point in a broader debate about immigration and border security. President Trump called it an “attack” and further evidence that a wall was needed along the United States’ border with Mexico. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas said it underscored the constant dangers of safeguarding often rugged and remote terrain.
But the F.B.I. report makes clear that the authorities knew very little in the moments after the episode. There was, however, a faint clue: Disoriented and injured, Mr. Garland called a Border Patrol dispatcher for backup because they had both been injured.
He also said something about running into a culvert, but the dispatcher could not make out exactly what he said.
The F.B.I.’s report, which said agents had interviewed more than 650 people, came one day after the release of Mr. Martinez’s autopsy report. The El Paso medical examiner’s office found that Mr. Martinez, 36, had died of blunt injuries to the head, but could not determine the manner of death.
Mr. Martinez, who lived in El Paso and became an agent in 2013, and Mr. Garland were patrolling the Big Bend sector, a vast area of 135,000 square miles in Texas and Oklahoma. When colleagues discovered them, they were taken to a nearby hospital and then flown to a larger hospital in El Paso, where Mr. Martinez died the next day.
Mr. Garland, who also had major head injuries and broken bones, was later released from the hospital.
Angie Ochoa, who was engaged to Mr. Martinez, said on Wednesday that she first learned of the autopsy results in a meeting with law enforcement officials two weeks ago, and was worried that investigators would move on from the case, even though the report was inconclusive.
“I was shocked, I was angry, I was disappointed,” Ms. Ochoa said, “because now I think that they are going to end the investigation and that’s it.”
The autopsy report noted that a barbiturate was found in his system. It can cause drowsiness and can be used along with other medications, such as acetaminophen, to treat headaches and pain.
Ms. Ochoa said she was shocked to learn that her fiancé had a barbiturate in his system when he died. “It doesn’t make sense because Roger never took anything; we had nothing at home,” she said, adding that he had not been to a doctor.
But Ms. Ochoa said that in the days before he died, Mr. Martinez had been complaining of headaches and neck tension. She thought it was possible that he could have accepted the medication from a friend or colleague without realizing how much of an effect it might have on him.
Chris Cabrera, a spokesman for the National Border Patrol Council, said that despite the F.B.I.’s report and the autopsy results, he still believed that Mr. Martinez was attacked on the night of Nov. 18. He noted that the autopsy did not find injuries below his torso that could have indicated that the agents were hit by a vehicle or involved in an accident.
“It says that there is no evidence pointing it to being a struggle,” Mr. Cabrera said in an interview. “But then the F.B.I. still retains jurisdiction over it, and it doesn’t investigate accidents.”
Mr. Martinez’s father, Jose Martinez, said in an interview shortly after his son died that he believed his son had been attacked, perhaps in a trap set by someone. He said his son’s injuries were too severe to be caused by an accident.
During the investigation, the F.B.I. said that it identified two “persons of interest,” but that a forensic analysis could not link them to the episode. While the investigators could not solve what happened with Mr. Martinez and Mr. Garland, the F.B.I. said the case would remain open.
Mr. Cabrera said he was holding out hope that investigators eventually arrest someone in the case. “I honestly believe they will,” he said.
Source:- https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/07/us/border-patrol-agent-death-investigation.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront
