chicago — The fate of a Chicago man accused of using Snapchat to introduce… $10,000 reward On top life Border Guard Commander Rested in a Federal jury hands Thursday.
Juan Espinoza Martinez, a 37-year-old carpenter, was charged with murder for hire in the first criminal trial of its kind. Immigration campaign in the Chicago area. Testimony lasted only hours in the federal trial that is the latest test of the Trump administration’s credibility on the federal raises that have erupted since 2016. Minnesota to who.
At the heart of the government’s case are Snapchat messages sent from Espinoza Martinez to his younger brother and a friend who turned out to be a government informant. “10k if you drop it,” one read in part, along with a photo Gregory Bovinoa Border Patrol official who has led aggressive crackdowns across the country, including last year in the Chicago area.
“Those words do not suggest that this was a joke,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Younan told the jury during closing arguments. “Those words have meaning. They are not innocent and harmless words.”
But defense attorneys said the government has shown no evidence against Espinoza Martinez, who sent the messages as “neighborhood gossip” after he came home from work and relaxed with a beer. He did not follow up on the exchanges and only had a few dollars in his bank account.
“Sending a message about the gossip you’ve heard in the neighborhood, it’s not a murder-for-hire,” defense attorney Dina Singer told the jury. “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 in the federal spotlight. Protests, arrests and tense standoffs with immigration officials were common throughout the city of 2.7 million and its surrounding suburbs, especially in densely populated areas of the Mexican city. Small village neighborhood Where Espinoza Martinez lived.
He did not testify at his trial.
But attorneys showed clips of his interview with law enforcement, in which he said he was confused about the charges against him and that he sent the messages without much thought while scrolling social media after work.
“I didn’t threaten anyone,” he told investigators, exchanging English and Spanish at times during the interview. “I’m not saying I asked them to do it.”
Born in Mexico, he has lived in Chicago for years but does not have citizenship.
The Department of Homeland Security promoted Espinoza Martinez’s arrest on social media with unretouched photos of his face, referring to him as a “corrupt” gang member. Bovino presented the case as an example of the increased risks federal agents face. The plaintiffs included Younan, the second-highest-ranking federal prosecutor in the Chicago area.
But several federal lawsuits in Chicago did It fueled doubts About DHS narratives. Of the nearly 30 criminal cases stemming from Operation Midway Blitz, charges were dropped or dropped in about half. In a landmark lawsuit that forced Bovino to sit for depositions, a federal judge found He lied under oath including alleged gang threats.
Nationally, there have also been dozens of criminal cases linked to immigration operations I collapsed.
Bovino did not testify at the trial.
Federal prosecutors initially referred to Espinoza Martinez as a “high-ranking member” of the Latin Kings, but their lack of evidence prompted the U.S. District to get involved. Judge Joan Lefkow To prevent testimony about a Chicago street gang at trial. According to the criminal complaint, Espinoza Martinez allegedly sent messages on behalf of the gang to other gang members.
During the trial, there were minor references to the gang, including Espinoza Martinez saying in his interview that he had no connection to the Latin Kings. His brother, Oscar, testified that he took the Snapchat messages as a joke and something he had actually seen on Facebook.
Singer pointed out holes in the government’s case, including 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 work. Unbeknownst to Espinoza Martinez, he had also worked as a paid government informant over the years and shared a Snapchat with a federal investigator.
Jimenez, who has back problems, walked slowly and limped to the witness chair and needed help getting up.
“Are you asking to hire someone who is in a lot of pain and can barely walk?” The singer told the jury. “This doesn’t make any sense.”