ICE agent's alleged killer pleads not guilty

By SUSAN CARROLL, HOUSTON CHRONICLE

 

 

In this undated photo released by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) February 16, 2011 shows ICE Special Agent Jaime Zapata. Zapata was shot and killed in the line of duty February 15 after he was attacked by unknown assailants while driving between Monterrey, Mexico, and Mexico City. During the attack, a second ICE special agent was shot twice in the leg. He has been transported back to the United States and is in stable condition. Both special agents were assigned to ICE's attach� office in Mexico City. AFP PHOTO/HO/ICE = FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS AND TELEVISION USE ONLY = (Photo credit should read HO/AFP/Getty Images)
Photo: Chronicle / HC 

 

 

Julian Zapata Espinoza (C), aka "El Piolin", alleged member of Zetas drug trafficking gang, is presented with other alleged gang members at a press conference in Mexico City on Feb. 23, 2011. Julian Zapata Espinoza is a suspect in the murder of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jaime Zapata. AFP PHOTO / Ronaldo Schemidt (Photo credit should read Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images) Photo: Chronicle / HC 

 

 

 

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  Sergio Antonio Mora Cortes, aka "El Toto", of the Zetas drug cartel and boss of Julian Zapata Espinoza, aka "El Piolin", accused of the murder of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jaime Zapata, is presented to the press at the Mexican Navy headquarters in Mexico City, on February 28, 2011. More than 34,600 people have been killed in rising drug-related violence in Mexico since December 2006, when President Felipe Calderon deployed soldiers and federal police to take on organized crime. AFP PHOTO/Alfredo Estrella (Photo credit should read ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP/Getty Images)
  Photo: Chronicle / HC 
   
   
   Federal officials on Wednesday announced the extradition of a Zetas leader on charges stemming from the murder of a U.S. immigration agent in Mexico.
  
  Julian Zapata Espinoza, alias "El Piolin" or "Tweety Bird," appeared in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., and entered not guilty pleas to several charges outlined in an indictment unsealed earlier Wednesday.
  
  Zapata Espinoza, was arrested by Mexican soldiers within weeks of the Feb. 15 roadside ambush that killed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Agent Jaime Zapata and wounded his partner, Victor Avila. The alleged head of a Zeta assassination cell in the state of San Luis Potosi, Zapata Espinosa was extradited to the U.S. Tuesday and appeared before U.S. District Chief Judge Royce Lamberth Wednesday morning, according to Department of Justice officials.
  
  
   
  

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    Mexican federal police and army soldiers guard a U.S. Embassy vehicle after it came under attack by unknown gunmen on Highway 57 between Mexico City and Monterrey, near the town of Santa Maria Del Rio, San Luis Potosi state, Mexico, Tuesday Feb. 15, 2011. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent was killed and another wounded in the attack. (AP Photo/Pulso Diario de San Luis-Teodoro Blanco Vazquez)
    Photo: Chronicle / HC 
     
     In April, a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned a four-count indictment against Zapata Espinoza, who faces charges including the murder and attempted murder of U.S. officers and using a firearm in a crime of violence. If convicted, Zapata Espinoza faces up to life in prison, a DOJ spokeswoman said Wednesday.
    
    Zapata Espinoza was captured by Mexican soldiers, along with five other suspected members of the Zeta cartel, during an army raid a week after the immigration agents' shooting. Mexican authorities said then that suspects reported that agents were shot in error and that they believed Zapata and Avila were members of a rival gang because of the vehicle they were driving.
    
    Jaime Jorge Zapata, a Brownsville native, was working for ICE in Laredo when he was tapped for an assignment in Mexico City in February. He was in his ninth day of the Mexico assignment on Feb. 15, when he and fellow agent Victor Avila were ambushed by gunmen with assault rifles along a highway near San Luis Potosi. The gunmen allegedly stuck a handgun and an AK-47 through a window that had been rolled down slightly and started shooting.
     

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      STATE -- Family, friends and supporters place roses on the casket of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Special Agent Jaime Zapata in Brownsville, Texas, Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011. Zapata was murdered on Feb. 15 in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and ICE Secretary John Morton attended the services for the agent. JERRY LARA/glara@express-news.net
      Photo: Chronicle / HC 
       
       "The extradition and charges filed against Zapata Espinoza is an important step in bringing Jaime and Victor's alleged shooters to justice," ICE Director John Morton said in a statement. "All of us at ICE are encouraged by today's action and appreciate the unwavering work and support of all our law enforcement partners in this case. Our hearts and prayers continue to go out to Jaime's family and his close colleagues within the ICE community."
      
      Zapata Espinoza was ordered detained without bail at his court appearance today. His next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 25.
       
       
       

      STATE -- From left, Stacye Joyner, (cq), (girlfriend), and parents Amador and Mary Zapata gather at Rose Lawn Memorial Garden Cemetery for the burial services of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Special Agent Jaime Zapata in Brownsville, Texas, Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011. Zapata was murdered by unknown assailants on Feb. 15 in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi. JERRY LARA/glara@express-news.net
      Photo: Chronicle / HC 

       

       

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        Mary Zapata (center) wipes away a tear as she clutches a plaque honoring her son, slain immigration agent Jaime Zapata, as her husband Amador (left) shakes hands with Thomas Hinojosa, Acting Special Agent in Charge Drug Enforcement Administration, (right) during the Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Red Ribbon Rally at Tranquility park, Friday, Oct. 21, 2011, in Houston.
        Photo: Chronicle / 
         
         susan.carroll@chron.com