Marines Offered Immunity In Border Death Testimony Sought On Circumstances Surrounding Killing Of Texas Teenager By Patrol Leader

Three Marines have been offered immunity from prosecution in exchange for their testimony about the death of a young Texas man who was gunned down near the U.S.-Mexico border by their patrol leader.

A grand jury in southwest Texas must decide whether to hold Cpl. Clemente Manuel Banuelos, 22, criminally liable for the May 20 death of Esequiel Hernandez Jr., 18, who was from the tiny village of Redford.

Since the shooting, the Defense Department has suspended the use of soldiers to bolster drug-interdiction efforts along the border.

Banuelos and his Marines were on such a patrol when they encountered Hernandez near the Rio Grande river.

“They (the Marines) are appearing voluntarily,” Albert Valadez, district attorney for Presidio County, said Tuesday in a telephone interview.

“It’ll be a lot better than reading cold, hard statements that can’t answer questions,” Valadez said. The Presidio County grand jury meets Thursday in Marfa.

Banuelos, a three-year veteran of the Marine Corps, could face charges ranging from deadly conduct, a misdemeanor, to murder. Or the grand jury could decide not to charge him.

Hernandez was watching over his family’s goats on the outskirts of Redford when he crossed paths with the Marines who were working in conjunction with the U.S. Border Patrol.

The Texas Rangers have said the circumstances surrounding the shooting were suspicious. And family and friends of Hernandez say the young man was unaware the camouflaged patrol was in the area and was not warned by the Marines before the shooting.

But the Defense Department contends Hernandez, who was carrying a rifle, shot twice at the patrol and that Banuelos fired his M-16 rifle as Hernandez raised his gun to fire a third shot. Military officials have said it was a case of self-defense.

Defense Secretary William Cohen has ordered anti-drug patrols along the border suspended pending a review of the use of soldiers to assist in drug-interdiction efforts.

Valadez said grand jurors asked for an opportunity to question the Marines.

Jurors have had to rely on statements the Marines, who are based at Camp Pendleton, Calif., gave to FBI and Border Patrol agents and the statements of Texas Rangers, who are leading an investigation into the incident.

The grand jury last met July 30, hearing more than seven hours of testimony and viewing photographs and laboratory reports.

Houston attorney Jack Zimmermann, a former Marine colonel who is representing Banuelos, said the corporal fired as a last resort and only to save the life of a fellow Marine.

Zimmermann welcomed the plan for the other Marines to testify and predicted it would clear the air and clear his client.

Zimmermann said Banuelos has not been asked to appear before the grand jury.

“If they’ll give him immunity, he’ll be glad to testify,” the lawyer said of his client.