Teen pleads guilty in border agent's death

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- A 17-year-old youth pleaded guilty Friday to a murder charge in the death of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent, the U.S. Justice Department said.

Agent Robert W. Rosas Jr. was shot and killed July 23 while on patrol near San Diego, the department said in a release. The indictment charged Christian Daniel Castro-Alvarez with the murder of a federal officer committed in perpetration of a robbery.

In the plea agreement Castro-Alvarez admitted he illegally entered the United States to rob a Border Patrol agent and admitted that he and his co-conspirators lured Rosas out of his vehicle to rob him. During an ensuing struggle over a firearm, Rosas was shot several times and killed by the defendant and one or more of the co-conspirators.

Castro-Alvarez's case was transferred from juvenile court to an adult criminal proceeding, where he entered his guilty plea, the department said. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 19.

"Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas was killed in the line of duty bravely protecting our border," U.S. Attorney Karen P. Hewitt said. "Today's guilty plea is an important step in seeking justice on behalf of Agent Rosas."