Mexican defendant sentenced in 1998 murder of Border Patrol agent

Associated Press:

The final defendant in the 1998 slaying of a U.S. Border Patrol agent has been sentenced to 15 years in prison and three years of supervised release.

Juan Manuel Umares-Rivas, 27, was sentenced Thursday in federal court here.

Authorities said agent Alexander Kirpnick was killed on June 3, 1998, in Potrero Canyon, west of Nogales, after he encountered four men trying to smuggle marijuana across the border.

Umares-Rivas, of Mexico, was extradited to Tucson in March 2004 after the three other defendants in the case had been sentenced.

He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, possession with intent to distribute marijuana and use and carrying of a firearm during a drug-trafficking offense.

According to federal prosecutors, Umares-Rivas admitted he knew one of his companions was carrying a gun and that a law enforcement officer was killed.

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Last defendant sentenced in 1998 slaying of Border Patrol agent