Snapchats to informant central at trial for man accused in murder plot of Border Patrol leader

Snapchat messages a Chicago man accused of soliciting the murder of a top Border Patrol commander unknowingly sent to a government informant took center stage Wednesday at the opening day of the man’s federal trial. Juan Espinoza Martinez, 37, faces one count of murder-for-hire in the first criminal trial stemming from the immigration crackdown that began last year in and around the nation’s third-largest city. Federal prosecutors have alleged Espinoza Martinez was a gang member who put a $10,000 bounty on the life of Gregory Bovino, a Border Patrol official who has led aggressive and controversial campaigns nationwide, most recently in Minnesota.