Trial of Chicago man accused of putting bounty on top Border Patrol leader sent to jury

CHICAGO– The fate of a Chicago man accused of using Snapchat to place a $10,000 bounty on the life of a top Border Patrol commander was in the hands of a federal jury Thursday.

Juan Espinoza Martinez, a 37-year-old carpenter, was charged with a single count of murder for hire in the first criminal trial in the Chicago area’s immigration crackdown. Testimony lasted only a few hours during the federal trial, which is the latest test of the Trump administration’s credibility in the face of federal surges that have occurred from Minnesota to Maine.

At the heart of the government’s case are Snapchat messages sent by Espinoza Martinez to his younger brother and a friend who turned out to be a government informant. One read in part, “10,000 if you shoot him,” along with a photo of Gregory Bovino, a Border Patrol official who has led an aggressive crackdown across the country, including last year in the Chicago area.

“These words do not indicate that this was a joke,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Yonan told jurors during closing arguments. “These words have meaning. They are not innocent and harmless words.”

But defense attorneys said the government presented no evidence against Espinoza Martinez sending the messages as “neighborhood gossip” after coming home from work and relaxing with beers. He did not follow up on the exchanges and had only a few dollars in his bank account.

“Sending a message about gossip you heard in the neighborhood is not murder for hire,” his attorney Dena Singer told jurors. “It’s not a federal crime.”

If convicted, Espinoza Martinez faces up to 10 years in prison.

Prosecutors accused Espinoza Martinez of being “obsessed and obsessed” with Bovino and cited other messages in which he criticized the crackdown.

Espinoza Martinez was arrested in October as the Chicago area was under the federal spotlight. Protests, arrests and tense confrontations with immigration officials were common throughout the city of 2.7 million and surrounding suburbs, particularly in the Mexican-heavy Little Village neighborhood where Espinoza Martinez lived.

He did not testify at his trial.

But lawyers played excerpts of his interview with law enforcement in which he said he was confused about the charges and sent the messages without much thought while scrolling through social media after work.

“I didn’t threaten anyone,” he told investigators, sometimes exchanging English and Spanish during the interview. “I’m not saying I was telling them to do it.”

Born in Mexico, he has lived in Chicago for years but does not have citizenship.

The Department of Homeland Security touted Espinoza Martinez’s arrest on social media with unexpurgated photos of his face, calling him a “depraved” gang member. Bovino cited the case as an example of the growing dangers federal agents face. The prosecutors included Yonan, the second-highest-ranking federal prosecutor in the Chicago area.

But several federal lawsuits in Chicago have fueled skepticism about the DHS accounts. Of the approximately 30 criminal cases arising from Operation Midway Blitz, charges were dropped or dropped in about half. In a notable trial that forced Bovino to appear for a deposition, a federal judge found that he had lied under oath, including about alleged gang threats.

Across the country, dozens of criminal cases linked to immigration operations have also collapsed.

Bovino did not testify at trial.

Federal prosecutors initially called Espinoza Martinez a “high-profile member” of the Latin Kings, but their lack of evidence led U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow to bar testimony about the Chicago street gang at trial. According to the criminal complaint, Espinoza Martinez allegedly sent messages on behalf of the gang to other gang members.

At trial, there were minor mentions of the gang, including Espinoza Martinez stating in his interview that he had nothing to do with the Latin Kings. His brother, Oscar, said he viewed the Snapchat messages as a joke and something he had seen on Facebook before.

Singer pointed out flaws in the government’s case, particularly in the testimony of their first witness, Adrian Jimenez.

The 44-year-old owns a construction company and had been in contact with Espinoza Martinez via Snapchat about his work. Unknown to Espinoza Martinez, he had also worked as a paid government informant over the years and shared the Snapchats with a federal investigator.

Jimenez, who suffers from back problems, walked slowly and limped to the witness seat and needed help to get up.

“Would you hire someone who was in this much pain and could barely walk? Singer told jurors. “That doesn’t make any sense.”