Jury acquits Chicago man accused of soliciting murder of Border Patrol Cmdr. Bovino

[Nevilledog]

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/22/trial-bovino-bounty-expected-jury/

No paywall link
https://archive.ph/okUzY


A federal jury on Thursday found a Chicago construction worker not guilty of charges he solicited the murder of Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino, delivering a swift repudiation in a case the Trump administration had held up as evidence of violence toward immigration officials.

After a lightning-fast trial, the jury of six men and six women deliberated for about three hours before acquitting Juan Espinoza Martinez of the one count of murder for hire that he faced.

Dressed in a gray suit and tie, Espinoza Martinez, 37, had no immediate reaction in court, while his brother a few yards away made the sign of the cross and pumped his fist.

Espinoza Martinez, who has been locked up at the Metropolitan Correctional Center since his arrest on Oct. 6, could have faced up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Despite the not guilty verdict, however, he will likely not go free, since he’s been living in U.S. illegally and there is an ICE detainer out for him.

Regardless, the verdict is a stinging rebuke in what was the first criminal case stemming from Operation Midway Blitz to go to trial — one that seemed to get weaker for the prosecution at almost every step of the proceedings.

*snip*