The Latest: Family of slain US border agent praises arrest
PHOENIX (AP) — The Latest on the arrest of a fugitive accused in the 2010 killing of a U.S. Border Patrol agent (all times local):
3:24 p.m.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Thursday that the arrest of a Mexican man suspected of gunning down Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry in December 2010 sends a strong message to fugitives.
Sessions said in a statement that the United States will hunt down and find anyone who takes the life of an American citizen, especially a law enforcement officer.
Mexican authorities arrested Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes on Wednesday in the state of Chihuahua.
Terry's death revealed a bungled gun-tracking operation by the government in which federal agents allowed criminals to buy guns in the U.S. with the intention of tracking them. But agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives lost track of most of the guns, and two were found at the scene of Terry's murder.
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12:50 p.m.
The family of a Border Patrol agent whose 2010 death exposed a bungled U.S. gun-running operation says the arrest of a Mexican suspect in his killing is "fantastic news."
Robert Heyer, cousin of 40-year-old Brian Terry, said Thursday that the arrest of Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes reassures the family that the culprits all will be brought to justice.
Osorio-Arellanes was one of two remaining fugitives. Four others involved in Terry's death have been sentenced in federal court on murder charges.
Terry's family has been critical of former President Barack Obama's administration over the operation that allowed criminals to buy guns with the intention of tracking them. Instead, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives lost track of most of the guns, two of which were found at the scene of Terry's killing.
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11:45 a.m.
The head of the Department of Homeland Security says he hopes the arrest of a man suspected in the 2010 shooting death of a Border Patrol agent will "mark a significant step" in bringing closure to the agent's family.
Secretary John Kelly said in a statement Thursday that he was thankful to Mexican authorities who arrested Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes, who's accused of pulling the trigger of the gun that killed 40-year-old Brian Terry.
Terry's death exposed the Fast and Furious operation, in which the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives allowed criminals to buy guns with the intention of tracking them. But ATF lost sight of most, and two ended up at the scene of Terry's death.
Four others have been sentenced to prison on murder charges.
Kelly said the latest arrest illustrates the commitment of the administration to seek justice.
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8:10 a.m.
Mexican authorities confirm the arrest of the suspected shooter in the 2010 killing of a U.S. Border Patrol agent whose death exposed a bungled gun-tracking operation by the U.S. government.
A joint statement issued Thursday in Mexico City by Mexico's navy and its federal Attorney General's Office says the suspect in the killing of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry was arrested Wednesday afternoon by Mexican marines near the border between the states of Sinaloa and Chihuahua.
That's a mountainous region noted for drug activity.
According to the statement, the suspect is being held while extradition proceedings are pending.
The statement didn't identify the suspect by his full name, but a Mexican federal official confirmed it was Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to comment officially.
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Associated Press writer E. Eduardo Castillo in Mexico City contributed to this report.
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9:20 p.m.
Authorities have arrested the suspected shooter in the 2010 killing of a U.S. Border Patrol agent whose death exposed a bungled gun-tracking operation by the federal government.
A U.S. marshal for the District of Arizona tells The Arizona Republic (http://bit.ly/2p8y1mp ) that Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes was arrested in Mexico on Wednesday.
Osorio-Arellanes was one of two men who remained fugitives in the December 2010 murder of 40-year-old Brian Terry, whose death exposed Fast and Furious, in which agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives allowed criminals to buy guns with the intention of tracking the weapons.
But the agency lost most of the guns, including two that were found at scene of Terry's death. The operation set off a political firestorm.
Four other men involved in the killing have been convicted or have pleaded guilty in federal court to murder charges.
Fox News was first to report the arrest.
