Emotional mother after Border Patrol agent indicted in Mexican teen's death: 'It was the murder of a child'

• An unarmed 16-year-old Mexican boy was killed by a Border Patrol agent in 2012
• Agent Lonnie Swartz claimed self-defense, saying he was firing at rock-throwers
• Now, three years later, he has been indicted by a grand jury

For nearly three years Araceli Rodriguez and her family have sought justice for the death of her son, Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez. The 16-year-old teen was shot while walking unarmed  in Nogales, Sonora, by a Border Patrol agent who fired through the border fence from the U.S. side.

Thursday, the mother became emotional while discussing the indictment of the agent who shot the teen.  Lonnie Swartz will be arraigned on second-degree murder charges on Oct. 9, almost three years to the day since Elena Rodriguez was shot on Oct. 10, 2012.

Swartz had told investigators that he was shooting at youths who were throwing rocks at him from the Mexican side of the border. Witnesses said Elena Rodriguez was just walking by.

Araceli Rodriguez said she broke down and cried when her  lawyer informed her Wednesday night that a grand jury had indicted Swartz. She said she continues to live with the pain of her son's death every day even though three years have passed.

"The murder of my son, it's as if it happened yesterday," she said in a telephone interview from her home in Nogales, Sonora..

"I knew this day would come. Why? Because it was a murder, a murder of a child, a child of 16."

Indictments against agents for using lethal force are rare.

It is likely the first time a Border Patrol agent has ever been indicted in a cross-border shooting where the agent fired and killed someone in Mexico.

"I'm very happy," said Taide Elena, Elena Rodriguez's grandmother, who lives in Nogales, Ariz. "It's a big step forward for the justice of Jose Antonio and that is what we want, justice."

She said the indictment was the result of "three years of work by us, the family, the lawyers, and reporters, of all the people who have helped us. We are aware that we still have a long way to go but this is a very big step."

Since 2005, the start of the The Arizona Republic's database of killings by the Border Patrol, only two agents have been indicted on any kind of homicide charges. The last agents indicted for lethal force were in 2005 and 2007, the cases were dismissed or ended in hung juries.

If convicted, Swartz would be the first agent to face any consequences for deadly use of force since 2005. None of the 46 agents in the Republic's database as of last summer faced discipline from the Border Patrol, Customs and Border Patrol officials confirmed last year. The have been six lethal force cases since, for a total of 52 since 2005.

Swartz was indicted by a grand jury late Wednesday.

Aiming through a narrow opening in the fence, the agent emptied rounds from his .40-caliber pistol, court documents said. He reloaded and continued firing, hitting the teenager 10 times in the back and head, leaving him face-down in a pool of his own blood, according to court documents.

The Mexican side of the fence where Elena Rodriguez died is about 25 feet lower than the U.S. side. Because of the arc rocks thrown over the fence would have to follow, it would be all but impossible for a rock thrown from Mexico to hit someone near the fence on the U.S. side.

Swartz's personal attorney, Sean Chapman, said he was notified late Wednesday by the U.S. Attorney's Office of the indictment. The U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment.

"He is going to plead not guilty, and we are going to fight this in court," Chapman said. He said he could not comment further.

Shawn Moran, vice president for National Border Patrol Council, said the Border Patrol union will support Swartz and said he is entitled to due process.

"This is a very dangerous job," Moran said. "These are split-second decisions that are being dissected within the safety of an office with hindsight."

Luis Parra, the attorney representing the Elena Rodriguez family, said the family is hopeful they will now get more answers. He said there has been a lack of transparency and details of exactly what happened over the nearly three years since the shooting.

James Duff Lyall, an attorney in Tucson for the American Civil Liberties Union, which is also representing the family, called the indictment an important first step. The family has also filed a civil suit.

Lyall said it is rare for a Border Patrol agent to be held accountable for using deadly force. He called Elena Rodriguez's case a "senseless killing."

"After three years, the family is relieved that the Department of Justice has finally acted," Lyall said. "It is incumbent for the Department of Justice to take action in these cases. The family is relieved something is finally happening after so long."