POSTED: Thursday, August 18, 2011 - 5:19pm
UPDATED: Friday, August 19, 2011 - 11:56am
EL PASO-A Mexican family's fight against the U.S. is at a standstill. A federal judge dismissed their lawsuit that holds the federal government responsible for the death of their 15-year-old son.
In June of 2010 the body of Sergio Adrian Hernandez Guereca lied on the Juarez side of the U.S./Mexico border. Moments before, El Paso Border Patrol Agent Jesus Mesa shot him [2]in the head from the U.S. side. That's why Federal Judge David Briones dismissed the lawsuit. The deadly shooting happened in both countries.
"It’s never a good day when your case is dismissed but the fight has always been this issue and we were aware of it as was the family from the beginning," said Bob Hilliard.
Bob Hilliard, the family's attorney who's based in Corpus Christi, told us the judge's hands were tied.
"Judge Brionnes really given the current state of the law had no choice. We have a very wise judge and he understands that this issue has to be clarified by the appellate courts," said Hilliard.
Hilliard says the way the judge severed the United States as a defendant and dismissed the lawsuit will allow a higher court to rule on the case. A legal process that will be lengthy, but much needed since there is no set precedent for a shooting like this one.
"We are going to go forward with the lawsuit as it relates to the border patrol agent because that lawsuit did not get dismissed as it relates to him, and we are going to appeal the decision to dismiss the United States government," said Hilliard.
Hilliard says in the meantime, the boy's family will continue to fight for justice.
"They were hopeful that what they view as a cold blooded murder of their son would be addressed through the legal system," said Hilliard.
The family is hoping to gain 25 million dollars from the lawsuit. They say the boy was playing near the border before the shooting happened, which contradicts the FBI's account of what happened. The FBI says the boy was throwing rocks at border patrol before he was shot.