Signs held at an April 2013 protest over the death of Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez.
A federal judge Tuesday denied attempts by lawyers for Border Patrol agent Lonnie Swartz, accused of second degree murder, to be able to do a video deposition of a potential witness before the trial begins.
Swartz was on duty in 2012 when he fired through the border fence in Nogales, killing 16-year-old Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez.
Defense attorney Sean Chapman sought a rarely used rule to allow a video deposition of a witness who the lawyer fears will not show up to testify at the trial in October. He said the elderly woman has indicated her husband does not want her to testify.
The prosecutor argued that the rule allows videotaping a deposition only when there are exceptional circumstances. The prosecutor said there is no such thing as a “strict relative exception” that the husband has no legal standing to forbid a wife from testifying.
The judge agreed. The woman, a longtime Nogales, Ariz., resident, must testify and do it in person.
It has taken almost five years for the case to go to trial. Evidence shows Swartz fired his weapon 16 times, stopping once to reload, at the 16-year-old walking on the Mexican side of the border because he felt his life was in danger. Swartz claimed the teen was throwing rocks.
A previous version of this story incorrectly characterized Swartz' employment status. He is still employed by Border Patrol.
By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.