By Perla Trevizo | Arizona Daily Star
Two Border Patrol agents were convicted Friday in federal court in Tucson of violating the civil rights of four drug smugglers.
After deliberating most of the morning, about 3 p.m. the jury convicted Dario Castillo, 25, and Ramon Zuniga, 31, of four counts of civil-rights deprivation under color of law. Rather than arrest four Mexican smugglers intercepted the night of Nov. 12, 2008, the agents made them strip off their socks, shoes and jackets, forced some of them to eat marijuana and ordered them to flee into the desert.
The convictions are misdemeanors for Zuniga, but felonies for Castillo because the jury found he set fire to the smugglers’ belongings.
The agents were found not guilty of a conspiracy charge.
Castillo was also found not guilty of tampering with a witness, the most serious charge.
A felony conviction for deprivation of rights under color of law carries a maximum penalty of 10 years and/or a $250,000 fine; a misdemeanor conviction under the statute carries a penalty of one year and/or a $100,000 fine.
