07 June 2018 :

A Cameron County jury has decided Gustavo Tijerina Sandoval deserves the death penalty for the 2014 murder of a U.S. Border Patrol agent. Tijerina Sandoval, 34, was convicted last week in the death of Javier Vega Jr., the border agent who was shot to death while fishing with family in a rural area. On Aug. 3, 2014, Tijerina Sandoval and another man attempted to rob the Vega family at gunpoint, when Vega Jr., a veteran of the Marine Corps., pulled out his weapon. After a brief exchange of gunfire Vega Jr. was shot in the chest and died on the way to the hospital. The Border Patrol agent's father, Javier Vega Sr., was shot in the back during the firefight. In addition to receiving the death penalty, Tijerina Sandoval was sentenced to life for attempted capital murder regarding the others in the Vega party. Tijerina-Sandoval's attorney argued that his client was acting in self-defense. Ismael Hernandez Vallejo, accused of being the 2nd man in the robbery attempt, also is charged with capital murder and attempted capital murder. He will be tried later this year and also faces the death penalty. Both Tijerina Sandoval and Hernandez Vallejo are Mexican citizens who were in the United States illegally at the time of the attack on the Vega family. Judge Migdalia Lopez will finalize the sentence in the next weeks.