The man convicted of murder as the “triggerman” in the fatal 2010 shooting of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in a case that exposed the ill-fated federal gun-running sting operation dubbed “Fast and Furious” was sentenced on Wednesday to life in prison.
Osorio-Arellanes is one of seven defendants who were charged in the slaying of Terry. Osorio-Arellanes was convicted of first-degree murder and other charges last year after being extradited from Mexico in 2018.
Terry’s death exposed the “Fast and Furious“ operation, in which U.S. federal agents allowed criminals to buy firearms with the intention of tracking them to criminal organizations. But the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives lost track of most of the guns, including two found at scene of Terry’s death.
The Obama administration was heavily criticized for the operation. Former Attorney General Eric Holder was held in contempt by Congress for refusing to turn over documents related to the sting.
Terry, 40, was part of a four-man team in an elite Border Patrol unit staking out the southern Arizona desert on a mission to find “rip-off“ crew members who rob drug smugglers. They encountered a group and identified themselves as police.
The men refused to stop, prompting an agent to fire bean bags at them. They responded by firing AK-47-type assault rifles. Terry was struck in the back and died soon afterward.
