A Chicago man was found not guilty of federal charges that he tried to put a hit out on Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino.
When charges were initially brought against 37-yeara-old union carpenter Juan Espinoza Martinez, federal prosecutors asserted that he was a high-ranking member of the street gang the Latin Kings. However, ABC-7 Chicago reported that that the assertion was quickly walked back by the government and was not mentioned at trial.
The station reported that the entire government case came down to Snapchat messages that defense attorneys painted as not being a serious attempt to do anything.
"The government wants you to convict based on Snapchat messages sent to a physically challenged friend and his own brother. That's it. That's their entire case. No money exchanged hands, no weapon, just words," defense attorney Dena Singer said, according to ABC-7.
The six-man, six-woman jury took the case at 12:45 p.m. and delivered an acquittal before 4 p.m.
The Snapchat message was sent in October during the well-publicized "Operation Midway Blitz" immigration operation. The government had alleged that Martinez offered $10,000 for killing Bovino and $2,000 for information about him.
CWBChicago reported Martinez was a concrete worker who denied any ties to any gangs. The website reported that Martinez said he had shared memes and jokes about Bovino with his brother and another person. The website noted that little evidence was present at trial to support the government's assertion of gang ties.
The Sun-Times reported that there were 31 non-immigration cases tied to the Trump administration's immigration enforcement effort in the Chicago area last fall. Thus far, there have been zero convictions related to those cases.
The newspaper reported that 15 defendants have now been cleared of charges. Eleven cases were dropped and charges dismissed, three cases were dropped after a grand jury failed to indict, and Martinze was acquitted at trial.
