• 25
  • August
    2011

It looks like a 15-year-old boy from Mexico, Sergio Adrian Hernandez Guereca, will get no justice in a wrongful death lawsuit his family filed on his behalf against the federal government and the U.S. Border Patrol agent who shot and killed him - at least, not yet.

U.S. District Judge David Briones dismissed the wrongful death claim against the border agent, it appears, under law granting federal employees immunity, as per the CNN report.

At the same time, Judge Briones allowed Guereca's parents 10 days to amend and re-file a new complaint that would pass legal muster.

Guereca, an alleged juvenile offender and smuggler of Mexican nationals across the border, was said to have been throwing rocks at the agent and had turned and was in the process of running away when the agent fired three shots at him.

According to CNN, U.S. Border Patrol Agent Jesus Mesa, Jr. got "widespread condemnation" after the incident, which isn't surprising, given the apparent fact that Guereca's back was turned and he was running away.

Guereca appears to have been roughly 60 feet or so inside the Mexican border when he was shot and killed, leading to the dismissal of the wrongful death claim, in which Judge Briones ruled that the federal government did not have jurisdiction.

It will remain to be seen whether Guereca's parent's amended complaint will allow the case to proceed.

Source: CNN, "Judge dismisses suit over Mexican teen shot by U.S. agent," 08/18/11