A man who pleaded guilty to killing a U.S. Border Patrol agent whose death exposed a botched U.S. gun-smuggling operation has been sentenced to 27 years in prison.
The Arizona Daily Star reports that Rosario Rafael Burboa-Alvarez was sentenced Monday for first-degree murder in the 2010 death of Agent Brian Terry. It comes weeks after two others were convicted in Terry's death. Another man also has pleaded guilty.
Burboa-Alvarez is accused of assembling the armed crew that was supposed to steal marijuana from smugglers when they encountered agents in the Arizona desert and exchanged gunfire.
Authorities later tied two of the guns found at the scene of the shootout to a federal operation that allowed criminals to buy firearms in Phoenix-area shops with the intention of tracking them. Instead, the agency lost track of more than 1,400 guns.
© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.