themonitor.com
BROWNSVILLE, Texas -- A former U.S. Border Patrol agent was acquitted Friday of using excessive force to arrest an illegal immigrant in a retrial of a 2001 case.
A federal jury said David Sipe was not guilty of using excessive force against Jose Guevarra on April 5, 2000. The case was first tried in front of Judge Ricardo Hinojosa in McAllen’s U.S. District Court in 2001. At the time, a jury found Sipe guilty after a five-day trial.
But while preparing for sentencing in the 2001 case, Sipe’s attorney, Jack Lamar Wolfe, found evidence the U.S. Attorney’s Office had withheld information requested before the trial.
Wolfe cited in a motion for a new trial that prosecutors had not revealed at least four pieces of information:
l A government witness’ criminal background
l Testimony favorable to Sipe by one of his former co-workers
l Additional benefits given to witnesses, like Social Security cards and reimbursements
l Pictures of the victim re-enacting the arrest for investigators
Hinojosa granted the request for a new trial on April 11, 2003.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office appealed the decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which sided with the decision for a new trial on Nov. 19, 2004.
Sipe and Wolfe started preparing for a new trial, but Sipe applied for a change of venue in November last year. The case was subsequently moved to Brownsville’s U.S. District Court.
Posted by tyne at January 28, 2007