A Virginia grand jury indicted six Colombians for the kidnapping and murder of a Drug Enforcement agent in Colombia during an attempted robbery in June, federal authorities, as reported by CNN. Special Agent James "Terry" Watson died after being stabbed in a taxi in the country's capital Bogota.
The six defendants operated a robbery and kidnapping conspiracy using cabs in the capital in order to lure victims, to then get the driver to signal to conspirators to do robbery, the U.S. Justice Department said.
Watson was shocked with a stun gun by a defendant, and was stabbed with a knife by another one.
Investigators believe Watson's cab stopped at a traffic light and his assailants jumped out of two other cabs, which pulled up on either side of the vehicle in which he was riding
The DEA said Watson was a 13-year veteran of the agency.
The indictment sends "an unmistakable message to all who commit acts of violence against America's law enforcement professionals: no matter who you are or where you live, we will do everything in our power to hold you accountable to the fullest extent of the law," U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. All the men were charged with two counts of second-degree murder, one count of kidnapping and one count of conspiracy to kidnap.
The United States will request extradition of the suspects, but it has not yet done so formally, a law enforcement official said, news reports said.
© 2023 Lawyer Herald All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Get the Most Popular Lawyerherald Stories in a Weekly Newsletter
Join the Discussion
