ROCKVILLE, Md. — A jury has found an FBI agent not guilty on all counts for his involvement in a shooting in December 2020 on a Metro train that left a man wounded.
Agent Eduardo Valdivia, 37, was charged with attempted murder, first-degree assault, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and reckless endangerment after shooting a panhandler, Steven Slaughter, on a Red Line Metro train on Dec. 15, 2020.
Jurors delivered their verdict Friday afternoon, less than three hours after deliberations began. A juror, who declined to give his name, told WUSA9 that with "just three witnesses, prosecutors didn't offer much of a case." He said the jury spent a "little bit of time" debating whether it was '"perfect or imperfect" self defense, but quickly concluded that Valdivia acted reasonably, calling Slaughter “the aggressor." Slaughter was never brought in to testify during the trial, which the prosecutors said was due to mental health challenges.
When the verdict was read, Valdivia's family began to weep and several of his fellow FBI agents cheered. His attorney, Robert Bonsib, argued the prosecutors never should have brought the charges in the first place, saying Valdivia has lost two years of his life fighting the charges.
During the trial, Montgomery County prosecutors argued there were other passengers in the southbound Red Line car who were endangered when Valdivia fired three shots. The agent claimed he acted in self defense.
Montgomery Count State's Attorney John McCarthy said he does not regret bringing the case, and that sometimes you just have to leave things in a jury's hands. Throughout the trial, the prosecution argued that the incident never needed to happen, that it should have been a brief and forgettable experience on public transit.
WUSA9 obtained the video of the shooting from the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office Thursday, which was captured on surveillance video in the Metro car and shown in court. The video does not have any audio, so the following account is what can be seen only by watching the video.
WARNING: The video below has graphic content, depicting a shooting on a Metro train.
The video shows two men entering the train car. A man in a suit, identified as Valdivia, is already sitting down in an aisle seat, and a new man to the car, who is shown wearing a purple shirt, takes a seat in the row across from the FBI agent.
Prosecutors say Slaughter asked for money from Valdivia, and the FBI agent told him, "I have nothing to give you."
"F--- your money," Slaughter responded, according to prosecutors, before walking away.
"Watch your mouth!" Valdivia responded as he stands up.
The prosecution alleged this was where Valdivia escalated what should have just been a brief encounter.
Slaughter can then be seen turning around, tossing his coat down and confronting Valdivia, allegedly cursing, threatening to throw him through the wall and "f--- him up."
Valdivia reaches toward his holster, where he's carrying a loaded gun. The two exchange more words, before the agent takes out a gun and shoots Slaughter twice in the stomach. Slaughter hunches over, stumbles and takes a seat.
Prosecutor John Lalos told jurors during his closing argument "that didn't have to happen," but Bonsib maintained it was self defense.
"Two to three feet-- that's arm's length," Bonsib argued. "That's fighting length You don't have to wait under those circumstances for things to happen. And he didn't have to."
Slaughter allegedly has a long history of violence and overly aggressive panhandling on Metro. Bonsib made much of that, saying Slaughter wasn't just a panhandler, he was “every commuter's nightmare.”