A date has been set for the trial of three men involved in the hostage situation at a Louisiana jail last December, June 19, 2000. Each has been charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated battery and simple battery.
Aggravated kidnapping can carry a sentence of life without parole.
One of those to be tried is currently serving a 55-year sentence for attempted murder, a sentence handed down after the hostage crisis was resolved. There were no injuries, but nine soldiers were detained. Apparently two Humvees driven by Mexican soldiers on an anti-drug mission crossed a poorly marked section of the border near El Paso, Texas. After the Border Patrol agents identified themselves two shots were fired from one of the vehicles, although it is unclear who fired them. The Humvee from which the shots were fired drove back into Mexican territory, while the soldiers in the other surrendered to the Border Patrol and were released after brief questioning.