Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correctly reflect the former employee’s position with the U.S. Border Patrol. Gregson Martinez was a processing coordinator for the agency, not an agent.
McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — A former U.S. Border Patrol processing coordinator has pleaded guilty to striking a Honduran teenager migrant who was in his care at a South Texas processing facility, U.S. Attorney Jennifer Lowery announced Friday.
Gregson Martinez, of Brownsville, Texas, pleaded guilty in federal court in McAllen, Texas, to acting under color of law and utilizing unreasonable force by striking a 17-year-old unaccompanied Honduran citizen.
Martinez, 28, struck the teen on July 21, 2021, while questioning him at the Donna Processing Center operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Donna, Texas. The teen had been apprehended near Hidalgo, Texas, and was brought to the processing center where Martinez worked as a Border Patrol processing coordinator, according to a news release by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Martinez was fired from the agency on Aug. 2, 2021.
He faces up to a year in federal prison and a possible $100,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for June 24 in McAllen.
