FEDERAL GRAND JURY INDICTS BORDER PATROL AGENT FOR SHOOTING UNARMED 19-YEAR-OLD STOPPED IN TRAFFIC

Agent Had Been Disciplined Twice Before for Shooting at Civilians; Press Conference to Follow Monday Afternoon Arraignment

SAN DIEGO, CA, UNITED STATES, April 6, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A federal grand jury has indicted U.S. Border Patrol Agent Marcos Javier Andrade on civil rights and firearms charges, an April 2nd report from the San Diego Union-Tribune confirmed. The indictment, Case No. 26 CR1164RSH, alleges that Andrade shot Anthony Flores, an unarmed 19-year-old American citizen, while Mr. Flores sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic at a Calexico intersection on July 11, 2022.

According to the federal indictment, Agent Andrade fired eight rounds into Mr. Flores’s minivan—three through the windshield, four through the driver’s side door. Mr. Flores was struck repeatedly, including gunshot wounds to his hand and shoulder as well as shattered glass lodged in his eye. He was airlifted to a hospital for emergency surgery and will carry permanent disabilities for the rest of his life.

McKenzie Scott PC represents Mr. Flores in a pending civil rights lawsuit, Flores v. Andrade, Case No. 3:24-cv-01189 (S.D. Cal.). Attorney Marcus S. Bourassa will hold a press conference immediately following Agent Andrade’s arraignment on Monday, April 6, 2026, at the United States District Court, Southern District of California, 221 West Broadway, San Diego.

A Pattern of Violence

The federal indictment further alleges that Agent Andrade had been previously disciplined for two separate incidents, in 2012 and 2017, in which he discharged his service-issued firearm at civilians. Despite this history, Andrade remained armed and on duty.

At the time of this shooting, the El Centro Sector was under the command of Chief Patrol Agent Gregory K. Bovino, who later became the face of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations before being removed following the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in January 2026.

“It should not take three shootings to indict a federal agent. This isn’t baseball,” said San Diego civil rights attorney Marcus S. Bourassa. “No one is above the law, even if they wear a badge. If Border Patrol had basic, enforceable standards, Anthony Flores would not have become yet another victim.”

The Federal Accountability Gap

The criminal indictment is a critical step, but Mr. Flores’s civil case exposes a deeper problem: under the Supreme Court’s increasingly restrictive reading of Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents (1971), it is extraordinarily difficult for victims of federal officer misconduct to sue for constitutional violations—even when the conduct is extreme.

“A federal grand jury has charged this as a crime, and yet the legal framework makes it an uphill battle for Mr. Flores to hold this agent civilly accountable under Bivens,” said San Diego civil rights attorney Tim Scott. “If a federal agent is indicted for a crime of violence leading to death, and the courthouse doors are barely open, something is fundamentally broken.”

No on-duty Border Patrol agent in the agency’s nearly 100-year history has ever been successfully convicted of an on-duty killing.
Anyone who witnessed the July 11, 2022 shooting at the intersection of Highway 98 and Highway 111 in Calexico is encouraged to contact McKenzie Scott PC at (619) 794-0451 or mbourassa@mckenziescott.com.

Press Conference Details

What: Press conference regarding the federal indictment of Border Patrol Agent Marcos Andrade and the civil rights case on behalf of Anthony Flores
When: Monday, April 6, 2026, immediately following Agent Andrade’s afternoon arraignment
Where: United States District Court, Southern District of California, 221 West Broadway, San Diego, CA 92101
Who: Marcus S. Bourassa, McKenzie Scott PC, attorney for Anthony Flores

Body-worn camera footage and additional materials will be available at the press conference.

About McKenzie Scott PC

McKenzie Scott PC is a San Diego civil rights and criminal defense litigation firm founded by former federal public defenders Timothy A. Scott and Michele A. McKenzie. The firm specializes in police misconduct, jail death, and civil rights cases, and has obtained an $85 million verdict and a $16 million settlement on behalf of victims of law enforcement misconduct.

Jason Kitchen
McKenzie Scott PC
+1 619-794-0451
jkitchen@mckenziescott.com
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