Agent Nicholas Corbett has been charged with four counts of homicide: first-degree and second-degree murder, manslaughter, and negligent homicide.
Corbett shot Mexican national Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera in January as he tried to apprehend him and three other family members attempting to enter the United States illegally.
Corbett has not spoken with investigators or taken the stand. At a preliminary hearing he could get the chance to explain why his version of events differs from that of the three witnesses—Dominguez Rivera’s two brothers and his sister-in-law who are under the custody of the Mexican consulate in Tucson.
Corbett says he feared Dominguez Rivera was about to throw a rock at him, while the witnesses say the agent pushed the man and then shot him. A video has been submitted to the FBI, but because it was dark it’s difficult to discern exactly what happened.
