A Pima County judge has confirmed the trial date for Gustavo Zamora, a now retired U.S. Border Patrol senior agent indicted in 2019 on charges of sexually assaulting a fellow agent in a hotel room after both became intoxicated at a nearby restaurant.
The five-day jury trial will begin Feb. 21, according to Judge Danelle Liwski. The judge has also indicated her intent to permit at least one media outlet to record inside, although any video coverage would be limited images of Zamora, his defense attorney, and the prosecutor with the Pima County Attorney’s Office.
“Absent this Court’s express prior authorization, there must be no filming of court personnel, judicial officers or staff, victims, jurors and/or witnesses,” according to the judge’s order.
Any objection by one of the parties must be filed in writing and will be ruled on by Liwski at least three business days before the start of trial.
Meanwhile, a lawsuit filed against Zamora and his wife by the woman reported as the victim in the criminal prosecution remains on hold after a judge ruled Zamora’s due process rights could be violated if he was required to respond to the civil allegations at this time.
Gustavo was indicted by a Pima County grand jury in July 2019 on one count of felony kidnapping by restraint and three counts of sexual assault following a May 23, 2019 dinner date. At the time, Zamora was the assistant chief patrol agent of USBP’s Yuma Sector but resigned soon after the charges were filed.
Court documents show Zamora and a fellow agent arranged to meet at a Tucson area restaurant. He and the woman, who was assigned to USBP Tucson Sector, had kept in touch after working together for USBP’s Spokane Sector in 2015.
The two were joined at the restaurant for a short time by then-Tucson Chief Patrol Agent Roy Villareal, who was the woman’s boss.
The woman filed a police report two days later alleging she was sexually assaulted by Zamora in his nearby hotel room. Zamora does not deny the two had sex, but denies accusations that it was nonconsensual.
The 12 jurors hearing the criminal case are expected to hear evidence that Zamora and the woman both consumed a large amount of alcohol. Security footage from inside the nearby hotel later that evening shows the woman had difficulty walking and standing on her own in the hallway.
Zamora’s attorney has suggested there may also be testimony that Zamora was too inebriated to have consented to sex activity as well.
Regardless of the jury’s verdict, the woman’s civil suit will eventually be allowed to move forward against Zamora for damages related to alleged battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence stemming from Zamora’s intoxication.
On Jan. 3, Judge Kellie Johnson ordered the various parties connected to the lawsuit to file a status report no later than in early April on the developments in the criminal case.
Zamora’s wife, Gloria Chavez, is named as a defendant in the lawsuit in order to attach any marital interests in the event the woman prevails at trial. Chavez, who was assigned to USBP’s El Paso Sector in May 2019, was later named the Sector’s Chief Patrol Agent in March 2020.
In October 2022, Chavez became USBP’s highest-ranking female agent when she was appointed as Chief of the Rio Grande Valley Sector in October 2022.
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Lawsuit Against Former USBP-Yuma Official On Hold As He Awaits Trial On Sexual Assault Charges