In relation to Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, the below article from The Monitor is quite telling. It appears a former border patrol agent by the name of David Sipe, who had been found guilty of excessive force against an illegal alien and sentenced to prison back in 2001, has now been acquitted of that charge due to information and documentation that was being withheld by the prosecution for years.
Border patrol agent acquitted in excessive force case
January 27,2007
Monitor Staff Writer
BROWNSVILLE — 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.
Verdict Reversal for Ex-Border Patrol Agent
David Sipe is a once convicted criminal who can honestly say he “didn’t do it.”
“Relief. Relief. After 7 years, it’s gone. It’s over.”
The ex-border patrol agent gets a 2001 guilty verdict overturned in his retrial for civil rights violations against a smuggler. The incident dates back to April of 2000 in Penitas.
“He was striking me in the side… he was very close to my weapon… and I had to do what I could to control the situation as fast as I could.”
Fearing for his life, David subdues the smuggler by hitting him with his flashlight. It results in staples to the smugglers head. A border patrol investigation is launched and deems his actions inappropriate– even illegal.
“I don’t know how they’re able to do that… but I don’t think that’s fair.”
Neither did a jury who overturns his conviction from the first trial against him.
David says the government, who he faithfully worked under for nearly 4 years, turns its back on him while rolling out the red carpet, as he puts it, for the illegals turned witnesses.
“They got to stay here and work in our country.”
The smuggler even gets a government settlement.
“80 thousand dollars… he now has his own ranch in Mexico.’
As for David– he doesn’t collect a thing. In fact, his life and family gets ripped apart.
“My house foreclosed on after having to file bankruptcy, my children having to live through this… of course my wife divorcing me.”
Through it all, he says, justice is served. And while most about David is forever changed one thing returns and it’s most important thing to him of all.
“I have my freedom back. I’m a man of honor again.”
What lead to this morning’s “not guilty” verdict reversal against the former border patrol agent? Turns out his attorney says the prosecution in the first trial supressed evidence and lied about benefits given to “Alien” witnesses.
Attorney Jack Wolfe explains.
“They with-held evidence about their witnesses who had prior convictions…they didn’t tell us… they were supposed to tell us. In fact, they told us that they had no witnesses with convictions.”
A new trial was granted and David Sipe’s conviction was thrown out. As a result, Sipe is a free man and fighting to get his job back.
Great blog and great articles posted, Hecubus …
Finally an American voice that makes sense from Los Angeles!
I have posted your link at Lighthouse Patriot Journal under the States of America: California category, and also at “Fellow Patriots” category – because I think you are a great fellow patriot.
Also glad you are aboard here at WordPress – great blogging atmosphere.
Sincerely,
Keith A. Lehman
Keith,
Thanks for the awesome support. I visit LPJ fairly regularly, and I always enjoy what you guys have to say.
I try my best here in LA.
Again thanks.
A very good blogsite. I like it better than Michelle Malkin’s Hot Spot — it appears a bunch of goof ball mini me Kool Aid drinkers in the mold of Hugh Hewitt are now in charge of interpreting and posting info. In any event, UNLESS Duncan Hunter’s bill gets enough sponsors and passes in the House to pardon Ramos and Compean –don’t count on Jorge W to be of any help. He doesn’t care what any of us think, want, believe – I promise that. Johnny Sutton was responsible for the Hernandez deal – appointed by Jorge W – their appears a pattern developing here. Meanwhile, the “conservative” MSM including Fox, and even MSNBC Joe Scarborough, Tucker Carlson – do not seem interested in addressing this latest injustice emanating from this administration. The injustice to Ramos and Compean to Sipe and Hernandez are worth talking about far more than Paris Hilton or Rudy Guilianni’s run for prez. Forget the left leaning media – they could care less. The only one that will cover it to any extent is Lou Dobbs as usual. Perhaps John Walsh will do a follow up – hope so. HE is a bulldog getting congress to pay attention to things they dont want to deal with. The media: gag me with a spoon – IF I hear one more talking head blather on about the most recent entrance into the presidential free for all — I am going to throw up. If I hear one more commentary about the Young and the Restless female astronaut – a Navy captain no less – who attempted the murder of her love triangle competition – I can’t take another endless round of Greta Van Sustren or Nancy Grace blather endlessly about one more pathetic murder/sex/scandal. Man — the Navy must be hard up. Lisa Marie Nowak decides to murder someone using a BB gun, knife, tubing and plastic – - Nimitz and Halsey must be so proud.
The media does soap opera it is not serious about much of anything these days – news – forget it. Investigative reports that mean something to ALL of us as a nation – won’t happen. IT is hard to believe that media will not do serious reporting into the NARCO STATE corruption that is coming to our side of the border. As my friend Allan Wall who lives in Mexico reported today: On February 5th, 2007, it was announced in the Mexican media that three members of the Mexican Congress would be traveling to Washington to work with Mexican-American members of the U.S. Congress to craft changes in U.S. immigration policy.
The three Mexican congressmen, one from each of the three major parties, plan to fly from Mexico City to Washington on February 6th (Tuesday). On Wednesday (February the 7th) they are scheduled to meet with both Democratic and Republican congressional representatives. On Thursday the 8th the Mexican congressmen are to meet with U.S. representatives Joe Baca, Luis B. Gutierrez, Hilda Solis and Nancy Pelosi.
The goal is work toward a migratory accord before the U.S. presidential elections advance any further.
Meanwhile, CNN news reader reported Tuesday –their most popular video link was Paris Hilton crack up at some party — GOD help us! WE the sheeple are twisted into curvy metal curleques that require a Phillips head screw driver to tighten. Didn’t know if I could say — screwed!
Diane,
Thank you very much for your kind words, your insight, and your valuable information.
I simply talk about subjects that interest me without worrying about page views and advertising. If I concerned myself with that, I would post about the non-story that is the asstronauts [sic] wife or Paris Hilton or the torrent of Presidential candidates (btw, I just announced my nomination for the presidency
I would be seriously interested in knowing more about what you mentioned concerning the Mexican congressmen. I’m very interested in the debacle that is the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America, the NAFTA superhighway, and other subjects designed to cripple the U.S.A. Bringing these issues to light will hopefully keep more people informed about how our government is in collusion with Mexico and Canada to create a North American Union.
Please come back anytime. You’re comment here was informative and enlightening.
Thank you.
Please keep the pressure ON HIGH!!
Since John Walsh DOES have a voice – I’m calling AMW and emailing the program, too – asking John Walsh to keep speaking out – please suggest to all of your readers to do that, also.
Thank goodness I have unlimited long distance…:
White House Phone: 202-456-1111
Call Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi: 866-340-9281
Congress: 866-340-9281
Attorney Alberto Gonzales: 202-514-2001
I call the above numbers every working day.
I am glad Border Patrol Agent Sipe has won some of his life back. How do you replace what was taken away by the government he is protecting? He cannot, therefore the government needs to initiate a good faith effort to show the people they are fair and expect everyone to be the same. He needs his job back, including pay. He would be eligible for pay step increases therefore, those should be included. He would be eligible for promotion to a higher grade and position, this should be granted. The government should determine and make a recommendation to him for money to help compensate what they have done to him. They paid the illegal alien $80,000 without any proof of a crime therefore; agent Sipe should receive much, much more for the number of years since he was wrongly accused.
Agent Sipe’s civil rights have been violated therefore, there needs to be criminal charges against the individual(s) who failed to provide the Defense the information they had requested. They need to be hauled into court by a special prosecutor hired to handle this issue. I cannot be a United States Attorney General employee; they have already proven to be corrupt.
Here are some general questions I am asking so I can write to Senators, DOJ, and Border Patrol.
Who is the individual in the Attorney General’s Southern Texas Office who refused to comply with the Defense’s request?
Are they going to be tried for violating Sipe’s civil rights?
Who approves the back pay?
If the illegal alien gets $80,000 for lying what does the Border Patrol agent, get?
What is the chain of command from the DA attorney to the US? Attorney, Southern, Texas?
What has happened to all of them?
The truth is that Mr. Sipe was a very different Agent that Compean or Ramos. It took David Sipe several months to state that he was “defending himself” from a 50 year old, 5′4″ man with one hand. The Truth is David Sipe hit an illegal alien in the back of the head just because he ran from him. Do you all still want to defend Mr. Sipe now that you know the truth?
I tried searching for information like this on foxnews and could not find it. This is a great article but I am afraid that to few will find it.
There are other cases like this besides Agents Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos. The Rocksprings, Texas case of Deputy Guillermo Falcon Hernandez is similar to this. These are not isolated cases.
Reply number 7 (truth). Why did the prosecution find it necessary to withhold the evidence? It looks like another Nifong political prosecution. It would be politics as usual except that someone went to prison instead of loosing their job.
To Smoky Juan,
Prior convictions? One of the witnesses was a classmate of Sipe’s in his Emergency Medical Technician course who had filed a false police report once before. The only other prior conviction I know of is that the victim (yes, I said victim) had been arrested before for crossing illegally into the U.S. before. The only other info withheld was the defense was not told that the aliens testifying against Sipe were given permission to work while awaiting the trial. This is actually a pretty common practice called “parole”. An illegal aliens can be paroled into the country for a specific reason, like being a government witness, and during that time they can be allowed to work and reside and then return to their country after the parole time has expired.
It was nothing like Nifong, nor was this case anything like those others sited in the article. Mr. Sipe was not defending himself. Now he goes on TV and radio and states that, but I find it comical that at the time he would never say that the Victim attacked him, struck him or even tried to get a weapon from. At the time of the incident, all that he stated was that the Victim was running from him. Funny how the prospect of prison time can effect your memory, right?
I don’t know what this country is coming to when you get sent to jail for doing your job!!
Bush should be impeached for allowing this invasion of our country to happen,and pushing for amnesty for these illegal aliens.
to Truth,
You must be an illegal, since I see that you are very anti border agent. It’s a sad day when one of our own gets arrested for protecting our country. Let’s look at it like you say. He was a defenseless 50 year old man. Let’s let this defenseless 50 year old drink a bottle of Jack and get behind the wheel of a car and kill 5 or 6 people. Now what if one of those people were your wife or child? I guess it would still be OK.
What you don’t seem to realize is he was ILLEGALLY in this country. He has no rights here, he is not supposed to be here. If I break into a bank and the guard shoots me, do they open me a savings account and fill it with money? No, because I was committing a crime. Crime is crime, I don’t know why you don’t get that.
To Brett,
Actually, Brett you couldn’t be any farther from the truth about me. First of all, I never said that the victim was defenseless, I only called him a victim because Sipe struck him from behind, out of anger merely because he was running away. In no way am I an illegal or “anti border agent” (most prefer to be called Border Patrol Agents by the way, not border agents or border guards).
It is just laughable to hear everyone defending Sipe now, if only you all could meet the guy; you wouldn’t feel sorry for him too long.
Brett, you obviously know nothing about immigration and civil rights. Even illegal aliens have civil rights, which in this case David Sipe violated. I do not condone illegal immigration, but there are certain procedures you are supposed to follow when effecting an arrest, the whole Level of Force Continuum, which Sipe did not follow correctly. You don’t strike an alien in the back of the head just because he is running away, that is the crime here and that is what Sipe was originally convicted of.
I don’t like seeing law enforcement officers going to jail, but it is hard to support those who make us all look bad and that is what David Sipe did.