A U.S. Border Patrol agent who shot and killed an unarmed and fleeing suspect in May has been cleared of any wrongdoing by the Pima County Attorney’s Office.
Agent Daniel Marquez shot Jose Luis Arambula, 31, in the back of the head on May 30 as he chased the suspect through a pecan grove near Green Valley.
Though Arambula was unarmed, the suspect twice turned toward the agent to “punch his hand out as if he were about to shoot a weapon,” Kellie Johnson, chief criminal deputy for the county attorney, wrote in a letter clearing Marquez.
Marquez fired nine times, striking Arambula once, according to earlier reports.
The incident began about 2:30 p.m. when agents attempted to stop the Jeep Arambula was driving on Interstate 19 after having seen it in a nearby desert area. Arambula abandoned the Jeep in a pecan grove and fled on foot with Marquez and the other agent in pursuit.
After the shooting, agents found nearly 500 pounds of marijuana in Arambula’s Jeep. He had been arrested April 4 by Pima County sheriff’s deputies who found 300 pounds of marijuana in his vehicle.
In her letter clearing Marquez, Johnson wrote that “a jury in a criminal trial would most likely find that Agent Marquez’ actions were justified under the circumstances. Given Mr. Arambula’s actions, a jury would likely conclude that Agent Marquez reasonably believed that deadly physical force was immediately necessary to protect himself from Mr. Arambula’s apparent attempt to use deadly physical force.”
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