PHOENIX (AP) - Attorneys for a Border Patrol agent want his retrial in the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old Mexican boy allegedly throwing rocks across the border held in Phoenix instead of Tucson because of extensive publicity about the case in particular and border issues in general.
A motion filed Wednesday by Lonnie Swartz’s lawyers argues that he can’t be guaranteed a fair trial in Tucson because media coverage has resulted in “extreme politicization of border issues for people living in southern Arizona.”
A jury in federal court in Tucson on April 23 acquitted Swartz of second-degree murder in the shooting of Elena Rodriguez in Nogales but deadlocked on other charges. Prosecutors decided to have him retried on manslaughter charges.
Swartz’s retrial is scheduled for Oct. 23 in Tucson.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.