Man Gets Five Years for Assaulting Border Patrol Agent

A man who tried to run over a Border Patrol agent in an El Paso parking lot last year was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison Wednesday in federal court.

Gerardo Felipe Ortiz, 28, was convicted of one count of assault on a federal officer. The charges could have yielded 20 years in federal prison.

Ortiz told U.S. District Judge David Briones that he had “no intention” of assaulting the agent.
His lawyer argued that Ortiz was trying to flee not hit the agent.

On April 17, two Border Patrol agents witnessed an exchange of money between Ortiz and another man in the parking lot of an auto supply store. The agents approached Ortiz after he got into his truck. They ordered Ortiz to get out of the truck. Ortiz drove away and one of the agents had to move to avoid being hit.

The agent fired one round and hit Ortiz. Ortiz was later apprehended at a local hospital where he was being treated for wounds to a hand and a shoulder.