Snapchats to informant central at trial for man accused in murder plot of Border Patrol leader

CHICAGO (AP) — Snapchat messages a Chicago man accused of soliciting the murder of a top Border Patrol commander unknowingly sent to a government informant took center stage Wednesday at the opening day of the man’s federal trial.

Juan Espinoza Martinez, 37, faces one count of murder-for-hire in the first criminal trial stemming from the immigration crackdown that began last year in and around the nation’s third-largest city. It's the latest test of credibility for the Trump administration's narratives about the Chicago operation.

Federal prosecutors have alleged Espinoza Martinez was a gang member who put a $10,000 bounty on the life of Gregory Bovino, a Border Patrol official who has led aggressive and controversial campaigns nationwide, most recently in Minnesota.

But defense attorneys said Espinoza Martinez, a carpenter with roughly $20 in his bank account, sent messages amounting to “neighborhood gossip” to his brother and a friend who turned out to be a government informant.

The Snapchats came in October as the Chicago area was seeing a surge of federal immigration officers. Arrests, protests and standoffs with agents were common throughout the city of 2.7 million and surrounding suburbs, particularly in the city’s heavily Mexican Little Village neighborhood where Espinoza Martinez lived.

“This case is not about someone being on trial for expressing strong, even angry views about immigration enforcement policy,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Minje Shin told jurors during opening statements. “Make no mistake, the evidence in this case will show that what the defendant did was not a joke, was not just him mouthing off, was not him blowing off steam behind a keyboard.”

Defense attorneys said the messages were merely recirculating details already on Facebook.

“He’s not guilty because repeating neighborhood gossip is not a crime,” defense attorney Jonathan Bedi told jurors. “Repeating neighborhood gossip is not intending to go commit a murder.”

Federal prosecutors initially referred to Espinoza Martinez as a “ranking member” of the Latin Kings, but prosecutors' lack of evidence led U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow to bar testimony on 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.

One recipient of the Snapchats was Adrian Jimenez, a 44-year-old man owns a construction company and had been in touch with Espinoza Martinez over Snapchat about work in the last year. The government's first witness, Jimenez had previously been identified in the criminal complaint as an anonymous “source of information.”

Pictures of the Snapchats were shown on screens in court. One read “10k if u take him down,” along with a picture of Bovino. Some messages were sent in Spanish but translated into English for court.

Jimenez, who suffers from back pain and walked with a limp to the witness chair, testified that he took the text messages seriously and shared them with a Homeland Security investigator he knew. He also disclosed that he’d been previously paid for work as a government informant but he did not recall how much or which agency.

Defense attorneys noted Jimenez, who asked for help getting out of the witness chair, had longtime medical problems. They also raised questions about whether Jimenez interpreted the Snapchats as a solicitation.

“You’re not somebody that commits murder for hire, right?” asked defense attorney Dena Singer.

“Nope,” Jimenez answered.

Bovino and the Trump administration have held up the case up as an example of increasing dangers faced by federal immigration agents, particularly threats from gangs. However, several federal lawsuits in Chicago have raised doubts about the Department of Homeland Security’s accounts.

Of the roughly 30 criminal cases stemming from Operation Midway Blitz in the Chicago area, charges have been dropped or dismissed in approximately half. In another high-profile lawsuit that forced Bovino be deposed, a federal judge found he lied under oath including about alleged gang threats.

Bovino was not expected to testify at Espinoza Martinez's trial.

Espinoza Martinez, who was born in Mexico, wore a dark suit and tie to court. He’s lived in the U.S. for years, but does not have legal permission to stay in the country.

If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison.