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Man Sentenced To 30 Years In Slaying Of Border Patrol Agent

A Mexican national has been sentenced to 30 years in prison over the shooting death of border patrol agent Brian Terry.

If you remember, Terry's death resulted in the uncovering of a botched gun-walking scheme known as "Fast and Furious." Weapons, which the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives allowed criminals to buy, were found at the scene of the shootout.

The AP reports:

"Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, who is from El Fuerte in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, is the only person to be convicted in the Dec. 14, 2010, shooting death of [Terry]. ...

"The shootout erupted just north of the Arizona border city of Nogales as Osorio-Arellanes and four other men who are accused of sneaking into the country to rob marijuana smugglers approached Terry and three other agents who were targeting such rip-off crews.

"Osorio-Arellanes was wounded in the shootout and was the only person arrested at the scene. Four other alleged rip-off crew members fled to Mexico. Two of the four are now in Mexican custody, while two others remain fugitives."

The Arizona Republic reports that Osorio-Arellanes pleaded guilty to felony murder and avoided the death penalty.

Fox News adds:

"Osorio-Arellanes has maintained he was not the gunman who killed Terry, and prosecutors say the evidence supports his claim. But they say he is still liable for the killing because the murder occurred during an attempted robbery in which he was a voluntary participant."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.