Border Patrol sued over San Diego man’s shooting death in Campo

The mother and son of a San Diego man who was fatally shot by Border Patrol during a traffic stop in Campo last year have filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

The suit, filed Monday in San Diego federal court, alleges Silvestre Estrada Vargas, a 26-year-old U.S. citizen, presented no danger to the agents when they opened fire on his car, which was stopped in front of a Circle K.

Little has been publicly released about the May 14 shooting. The lawyer for Estrada’s family, Keith Rutman, said he has been unable to access further details about the death — including the sealed autopsy report — before filing the lawsuit.

He filed on behalf of Estrada’s mother and 8-year-old son, who live in San Diego, as well as two passengers who were in the backseat at the time of the shooting and were uninjured.

The suit alleges wrongful death, excessive force, assault and battery, and negligence. It demands unspecified monetary damages to be determined at trial by a jury.

Officials from Border Patrol and its parent agency, Customs and Border Protection — both of which aren’t typically authorized to discuss pending litigation — did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday. The names of the agents involved have not been made public.

The Sheriff’s Department, which investigated the shooting, and CBP previously reported that Border Patrol agents tried to stop a car about 10:15 p.m. that was suspected of being involved with migrant smuggling. The driver didn’t stop, and a brief pursuit ended at a gas station at state Route 94 and Buckman Springs Road.

“A confrontation ensued, resulting in three agents discharging their firearms,” sheriff’s investigators said at the time, releasing no further details.

Estrada, who was behind the wheel, was struck by an unknown number of bullets that pierced the windshield. He died shortly after at a hospital.

According to the lawsuit, Estrada was unarmed and had one hand on the steering wheel and another holding a phone up to his ear when he was shot.

“The vehicle was stationary, and did not attempt to run down the agents,” the lawsuit states. “The vehicle’s egress was blocked.”

The two backseat passengers “saw and heard bullets whizzing by them and were afraid they would be shot and killed,” according to the lawsuit.

The passengers were taken into custody after agents determined they were in the country illegally. According to a search warrant affidavit filed last year, the passengers had traveled from central Mexico to Tijuana, where they arranged to be smuggled into the U.S. on foot by a guide for $8,000.

They were quickly apprehended on their first attempt and sent back to Mexico. On their second attempt, they were abandoned by their foot guide, who said he would soon arrange a pickup for them. But they ran out of food and water in the desert, and their cellphone battery was dead.

“They said they were about to turn themselves in, when they saw a gray, four-door car slowing down as it approached their location,” the affidavit said. The men said someone in the vehicle “told them to get inside and sit normal.”

The affidavit does not name Estrada as the alleged driver, nor does it mention the shooting that followed.

The two migrants, who are cousins, were held in San Diego as material witnesses in a prosecution against the alleged guide before being deported back to Mexico. The alleged guide pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor illegal entry charge two months later and was sentenced to time served.