A 26-year-old Mexican national has been found guilty of charges stemming from his attack on two Border Patrol agents, after he re-entered the U.S. following deportation, the FBI announced.
Jaime Martinez-Garcia, 26, of Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico, was found guilty of two counts of assault on a federal officer and one count of illegal re-entry after deportation by a federal jury in Tucson on Tuesday.
"In Arizona, Border Patrol Agents risk their lives on a daily basis patrolling in remote desert canyons and other harsh terrain." said U.S. Attorney Dennis K. Burke. "We won't tolerate attacks on them, and will aggressively prosecute those who do so."
The evidence at trial showed that on May 23, the Martinez-Garcia crossed illegally into the U.S. after having been deported three days earlier. When the he was encountered by a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Potero Canyon, west of Nogales, Martinez-Garcia refused to comply with the agent's orders to stop and physically fought the agent, kicking him in the leg. He then ran away.
A second Border Patrol agent had almost caught up to Martinez-Garcia, when the Mexican national stopped and picked up a large rock. The agent drew his weapon and ordered Martinez-Garcia to drop the rock. Instead, he threw the rock at the agent, striking the agent on the leg. Martinez-Garcia picked up another rock and, after refusing to drop the rock as ordered, the agent fired and hit him.
Martinez-Garcia faces a maximum sentence of eight years for each assault conviction, a maximum of 10 years for the illegal re-entry conviction, and up to a $250,000 fine.
