By Steve Neavling
A Border Patrol agent who fatally shot a migrant in a remote canyon in Arizona in February won’t be charged with a crime, the Cochise County Attorney’s Office said.
An investigation uncovered no evidence to contradict the official explanation of the shooting involving Agent Kendrek Bybee Staheli, the Arizona Daily Star reports.
The shooting occurred after two agents on horseback approached a group of migrants in Skeleton Canyon on Feb. 19.
After the agents apprehended three migrants, Carmelo Cruz Marcos “picked upon a large rock and appeared to be ready to strike” Staheli, according to Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre. That’s when Stahli shot Marcos several times.
“Based upon the available evidence, the shooting was legally justified, and there would be no reasonable likelihood of conviction on any criminal charge if pursued,” McIntyre wrote.
