Marine’s Killing of Goatherd Draws Civil Rights Inquiry

EL PASO —  Federal prosecutors announced Friday that they are looking into possible civil rights violations in the death of an 18-year-old goatherd gunned down along the border by a Marine.

A grand jury determined Thursday that Cpl. Clemente Banuelos was defending a fellow Marine when he killed Esequiel Hernandez Jr. near the Rio Grande, where the teen had been grazing his goats.

The decision outraged Hernandez’s family.

“I think somebody should be held responsible for the death of my brother,” Margarito Hernandez said Friday.

Esequiel Hernandez was killed May 20 after crossing paths with a four-man Marine unit assigned to watch a suspected drug smuggling route at the request of the Border Patrol in Redford, a tiny community 200 miles southeast of El Paso.

Military officials said Hernandez fired twice at the Marines with a .22-caliber rifle and was about to shoot again at Lance Cpl. James M. Blood when Banuelos killed him with a single shot from an M-16.

Lawyer Jack Zimmermann said at a news conference that Banuelos feels bad but believes that he did nothing wrong. Zimmermann said the grand jury decision was correct and he doubted federal charges will be filed.

Texas Rangers and prosecutors who investigated the shooting said they have evidence that conflicts with the Marines’ reports.

The grand jury concluded that, although Hernandez might have been shooting in the direction of the camouflaged Marines, he probably didn’t know they were there.

On Friday, the FBI took the rifle Hernandez was carrying, Banuelos’ M-16 and all other physical evidence from the sheriff’s office for use in the civil rights investigation, Presidio County Sheriff Danny Dominguez said.