Los Zetas accused killer makes his first appearance in D.C. federal court, and enters not guilty plea

Espinoza Indictment

It may be unusual for a member of Los Zetas to appear in downtown Washington, D.C., but one did today. He was in the custody of federal marshals, and at the United States Courthouse, just blocks from the White House and the Capitol.

Julian Zapata Espinoza was formally arraigned in the courtroom of Chief U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth. He's charged with the murder of federal immigration agent Jaime Zapata, and the wounding of his partner Víctor Ávila. The two unarmed ICE agents were ambushed by Lost Zetas gunmen on a highway in northern Mexico while on a business trip Feb. 15 (see main story below).

Espinoza, who likely will be represented by the U.S. Federal Defender's office, entered a plea of not guilty through an interpreter during the brief hearing. The court's official docket sheet indicates "Detention is conceded" -- meaning that Zapata Espinoza did not waste anybody's time requesting bail. His next court appearance, for a case status conference, will be January 25, 2012.

The federal judge who will preside over Julian Espinoza's murder trial, the Hon. Rocye Lamberth, is a University of Texas graduate, former captain in the Judge Advocate General's Corps and a U.S. Army vet who served a year in Vietnam. Espinoza would be well served to start studying English during those long, lazy jail hours. If convicted, he'll never see Mexico - or his Zetas amigos - again.