(FiveNation.com)- An FBI agent charged with trying to kill someone inside a Maryland Metrorail train was not found guilty.
On Friday, a Montgomery County jury returned a not-guilty verdict for Eduardo Valdivia. In December 2020, he was charged with shooting another passenger onboard a Red Line train in Bethesda, close to the Medical Center stop.
Steven Slaughter, a passenger, was shot but survived.
When the verdict was delivered, Valdivia’s defense team became emotional and claimed that Valdivia shouldn’t have been in this situation, according to defense lawyer Robert Bonsib.
When Slaughter approached Valdivia on the train on December 15, 2020, while panhandling, Valdivia stated that “all he wanted to do that day was go to work, come home, and be with his family.” Following their verbal exchange, Valdivia shot Slaughter, hitting him in the arm and abdomen.
Slaughter, according to Bonsib, was an “absolutely deadly threat,” and Valdivia was attempting to save himself. “100% self-defense,” according to Bonsib.
According to the prosecution, the FBI agent was “trying to shoot his way out” of the predicament. John McCarthy, the state’s attorney for Montgomery County, expressed disappointment with the jury’s decision but said he respected it.
McCarthy stated, “This was not an easy case.”
McCarthy claimed that the incident’s footage demonstrated that Slaughter never touched Valdivia and that he made two contacts with Valdivia while unarmed.
Despite the absence of sound in the video, the defense was able to fill in some of the blanks, including Slaughter’s admission that he told Valdivia he would “throw you to the wall,” according to Bonsib.
According to McCarthy, the jury had a right to hear the testimony and determine whether Valdivia’s conduct was legal and within the realm of reason.
According to Bonsib, the jury determined that Slaughter was the aggressor, which was the defense’s position after presenting Valdivia’s character to the jury and citing Slaughter’s criminal past.
Bonsib said that they felt the jury needed to hear Mr. Valdivia on the stand. He is measured and understated. “You won’t be able to discern that unless you have the chance to hear him speak in court,” according to Bonsib.
In contrast, the prosecutor didn’t want the jury to see Slaughter’s “look and manner” or his history of “continuous criminality,” according to Bonsib.
Charges against Valdivia included second-degree attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment, and felony firearm usage, each carrying a potential penalty of 65 years in prison.
