LOCAL

Seventh suspect sentenced in 2010 death of U.S. Border Patrol agent from Flat Rock

Ray Kisonas
The Monroe News
Agent Brian Terry

Almost 12 years after U.S. Border Patrol Agent and Flat Rock native Brian Terry was killed during a shootout with smugglers in Arizona, the seventh and final defendant was sentenced to prison.

A federal judge last week ordered Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga to serve 50 years in prison for his role in the Dec. 14, 2010, fatal shooting of Terry, 40, who was part of an elite crew on a mission that became deadly.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, Favela-Astorga pleaded guilty to murder in April following his capture that ended his seven-year reign as a fugitive in Mexico.

Terry's sister, Kelly Terry-Willis, said the family created the Brian Terry Foundation that has awarded over 100 college scholarships to young adults studying in the criminal justice field. The foundation also helps other families of those killed in the line of duty with financial assistance.

"It has been just shy of 12 long years that we have fought for justice for Brian," Terry-Willis said. "The men who took his life on that fateful night were able to run back over the border and live full lives as if nothing ever happened until they were caught and extradited back to the United States."

Favela-Astorga was one of several armed bandits who had traveled from Mexico to the U.S. to hunt for marijuana smugglers to rob. At the time, Terry and other members of the Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC) were on extended deployment in the desert to apprehend such robbery crews.

“Today is for Brian Terry, and his loved ones and colleagues who waited 11 years to see justice come to all who were involved in his tragic murder,” said U.S. Attorney Randy S. Grossman of the Southern District of California. “We hope it fulfills the promise to everyone who protects us. We’ll relentlessly pursue justice against those who do them harm for as long as it takes.”

Around midnight on the night of the shooting, Terry’s team attempted to arrest Favela-Astorga’s crew in a rural area north of Nogales, Arizona. A member of the robbery crew fired at the agents and Terry was hit in the back, severing his spinal cord and aorta. According to evidence presented at the prior trials, Terry called to a fellow agent, “Willie, I’m hit! I can’t feel my legs.” BORTAC agents, still under fire, tried to save Terry but were unsuccessful.

Terry-Willlis, who lives in Southgate, said one of her brother's greatest accomplishments was making the elite tactical team known as BORTAC. She said it is difficult to make the team, but he had the drive and discipline to succeed.

"Brian was a man of honor and courage and he lived his entire adult life to serve and protect this country," she said. "But he was also a brother, son, uncle and friend that we miss tremendously. I miss his smile and all the fun times we had."

Evidence from the trials established that the five bandits at the scene were armed with four AK-47-style assault rifles and an AR-15 assault rifle and had food to last for days.

The agent’s death exposed the operation called “Fast and Furious,” in which U.S. federal agents allowed criminals to buy firearms with the intention of tracking them to criminal organizations. But the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives lost track of most of the guns, including two found at scene of Terry’s death.

The Obama administration was criticized for the operation and former Attorney General Eric Holder was held in contempt by Congress for refusing to turn over documents related to the sting.

Over the years, six other defendants were captured, convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Following the shooting, Favela-Astorga and others fled back to Mexico, leaving behind Manuel Osorio-Arellanes who had been shot in the stomach by agents. Osorio-Arellanes was convicted and sentenced in 2014 to 30 years in prison after cooperating in identifying other members of the robbery crew who were fugitives.

Mexican authorities arrested Favela-Astorga in October 2017 based on a provisional arrest warrant issued at the request of the United States. He was extradited to the United States in January 2020. The other members of the robbery crew at the scene were arrested in Mexico years after the shooting and several were sentenced to life in prison.

“For over the last decade, the FBI and our partners have worked to bring justice to all involved in the killing of agent Brian Terry. We will not and did not waver in our commitment to ensure that those who commit acts of violence against law enforcement officials will be held accountable and punished to the fullest extent of the law,” said Chris Ormerod, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Phoenix Field Office. “We hope today’s final sentence will help bring a degree of comfort to Agent Terry’s family in knowing that all the individuals responsible for his murder have been brought to justice.”

Terry was a former U.S. Marine. He was a 1988 graduate of Flat Rock High School and had been an agent for four years. Prior to that he had served in the Marine Corps and as a police officer in Ecorse and Lincoln Park.

To donate and learn more about the 501(c)(3) Brian Terry Foundation, go to HonorBrianTerry.com.