Fugitive extradited back to U.S. in border agent’s 2010 slaying

TUCSON, Ariz. — U.S. officials say that a man sought in the slaying of a Border Patrol agent in Arizona eight years ago has been extradited to the U.S. from Mexico. Federal authorities said Tuesday that Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes will be arraigned in U.S. District Court in Tucson on Wednesday.

Osorio-Arellanes had been in custody awaiting extradition since being arrested by Mexican authorities on April 12, 2017.  Osorio-Arellanes is charged in the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, who was shot and killed Dec. 14, 2010 when he and other agents encountered a gang preying on smugglers north of Nogales, Arizona.

Terry’s death exposed the “Fast and Furious” operation 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 and led Terry’s family to file a lawsuit.

Terry was part of a four-man team in an elite Border Patrol unit staking out the southern Arizona desert on a mission to find “rip-off” crew members who rob drug smugglers.

They encountered a five-man group of suspected marijuana bandits and identified themselves as police in trying to arrest them.

The men refused to stop, prompting an agent to fire non-lethal bean bags toward them. They responded by firing from AK-47-type assault rifles.

Terry was struck in the back and died shortly after.

A jury in Tucson in October 2015 found two men, Jesus Leonel Sanchez-Meza and Ivan Soto-Barraza, guilty on murder and other charges. Another man, Manual Osorio-Arellanes, pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2014.

A fourth man, Rosario Rafael Burboa-Alvarez, pleaded guilty to murder. He was not present during the shooting but is accused of assembling the rip crew.

Authorities are still looking for Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga, who’s wanted on murder, conspiracy, robbery, assault and firearm charges, reports CBS affiliate KOLD.