Mistrial declared in border agent's trial

A mistrial was declared Tuesday in the retrial of a Border Patrol agent accused of gunning down an illegal immigrant without provocation.

Defense attorney Sean Chapman said he was disappointed the jury didn't acquit U.S Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Corbett of the charges against him, which included second-degree murder, manslaughter and negligent homicide. Prosecutors had asked jurors to convict Corbett on one of the charges.

``It's our understanding in the jury note that was sent out it was actually 11 to 1 in favor of acquittal in this case, with one holdout,'' Chapman said.

An earlier trial in March also ended with a deadlocked jury.

The incident caused an international uproar, with Mexican President Felipe Calderon condemning the shooting and calling for a complete investigation.

The case was unusual because it involved state criminal charges filed by the Cochise County Attorney, but was tried in U.S. District Court in Tucson because Corbett is a federal law enforcement agent.

Special prosecutor Grant Woods said the county attorney's office showed courage in bringing the case.

``In our state of Arizona, we stood up for the basic human rights of the victim and his family here and the justice system performed as well as it could,'' Woods said.

Woods said he's not sure whether Cochise County prosecutors will choose to retry Corbett.

Corbett, 40, was charged in the death of Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera of Puebla, Mexico. Jurors could convict on only one charge.

Dominguez was three other Mexican citizens were crossing the southern Arizona desert near Naco in January 2007 when Corbett drove up in his Border Patrol truck, got out and ended up firing the fatal shot.

Dominguez's two brothers, Jorge and Rene, and Jorge's girlfriend, Sandra Guzman. had crossed the Mexican border with him. All testified that he was going to his knees to surrender when Corbett shot Dominguez without provocation.

Corbett's lawyer contended that the agent was innocent of wrongdoing. He said the 6-foot-4, 240-pound Corbett shot in self-defense after Dominguez tried to smash his head with a rock. He also told jurors that the victim's three companions had been kept together for several hours after the shooting, giving them time to concoct a story, and that they had been under pressure from Mexican government officials eager to see Corbett punished, receiving money, clothing and housing in return for their testimony.

Dominguez, 22, was headed to New York, where he worked for more than four years until returning home to Mexico briefly in December 2006.