Former Garden City resident killed by Mexican law enforcement agents

(KWCH) Two Kansas men, one of them a former Garden City resident, were recently shot and killed in Mexico. Now, Mexican law enforcement agents are charged with murder.

According to the Mexican newspaper, the Saltillo Herald…Demetrius Atkins Junior and Edgar Hugo Valdes Rodriguez were traveling Saturday through the city of Saltillo on their way to vacation in Guanajuato.

The Saltillo Herald says the men were stopped by two agents from a local law enforcement group tasked with enforcing the security of three cities in the region.

The newspaper says the two officers then approached the Kansans truck and opened fire.
The paper reports Valdes-Rodriguez was in the drivers seat and shot six times in the head and Atkins Junior was killed shortly after as he tried to shield himself from the gunfire.
According to the newspaper, prosecutors revealed through an investigation, neither Valdes-Rodriguez nor Atkins Junior were armed. Atkins Junior is a former Garden City resident.

Now, the two Mexican officers are behind bars, facing murder charges.
The Saltillo Herald reports the two men will be sentenced November sixth where they could face between 18 and 50 years in prison.

Atkins Junior’s mother tells Eyewitness News she still has many questions about what led to her son and his friend Edgar’s death, she says the family wants justice but most of all, to bring her son home.

The mother is currently in contact with the US consulate to bring her son back to Kansas.