A man accused of plotting to murder a senior US border patrol official has been acquitted in Chicago, in the latest high-profile federal prosecution to collapse. Juan Espinoza Martinez, 37, was found not guilty on Thursday after a jury deliberated for less than four hours.
Prosecutors alleged that Mr Espinoza Martinez offered a $10,000 bounty over Snapchat in October for the killing of Gregory Bovino, the border patrol official leading a major immigration crackdown. The defence argued that the messages were harmless gossip and did not constitute a genuine threat.
The government’s case centred on Snapchat messages sent to Mr Espinoza Martinez’s younger brother and a friend who was a paid informant. One read “10k if u take him down”, accompanied by a picture of Mr Bovino. However, defence lawyers noted that Mr Espinoza Martinez never followed up on the messages and had only a few dollars in his bank account.
During the three-day trial, no evidence was produced that Mr Espinoza Martinez had any gang ties or intended to carry out the killing. The judge barred testimony about the Latin Kings street gang due to lack of evidence. The prosecution’s first witness, Adrian Jimenez, who worked as a government informant, walked with a limp and needed help getting up, leading the defence to question his credibility.
Mr Espinoza Martinez, a carpenter and father of three, did not testify. In an interview with law enforcement, he said he was confused by the charges and had sent the messages without much thought. His brother Oscar testified that he took the messages as a joke. The acquittal marks the latest in a series of criminal cases related to immigration enforcement that have fallen apart in court.
