Judge To Decide Charges Against U.S. Agent Who Killed Mexican Man Just North Of Border

Friday, June 15th 2007, 11:04 am

By: News On 6

BISBEE, Ariz. (AP) _ A judge on Friday delayed a hearing in which prosecutors are expected to argue a Border Patrol agent should be charged with murder for killing an illegal immigrant near the U.S. border.

The hearing had been scheduled for Friday, but Judge David C. Morales said he would postpone it to Aug. 6 to give the defense and prosecution time to get the right documents together.

Agent Nicholas Corbett's attorney told the judge he had not received usable audio recordings of witness statements or all of the transcripts.

``They gave three interviews each and they're inconsistent with each other,'' attorney Sean Chapman said Friday after the hearing.

Gerald Till, a deputy county attorney, said his office would cooperate with the defense.

Cochise County Attorney Ed Rheinheimer filed a range of charges against Corbett, including first- and second-degree murder, manslaughter and negligent homicide. But the judge will decide which is supported by the evidence.

Investigators say Corbett, 39, shot Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera, 22, on Jan. 12 as he tried to capture Dominguez, his two brothers and a sister-in-law outside Naco.

Corbett says he acted in self-defense, but the shooting drew condemnation from Mexico's government. He has since been reassigned to office duty.

According to investigators, Corbett told colleagues he shot at a man who looked like he was going to throw a rock. Dominguez's relatives told investigators Corbett fired while pushing Dominguez to the ground, according to documents released by prosecutors.