A 26-year-old man from Mexico has pleaded guilty to assaulting two U.S. Border Patrol agents last year on the Tohono O’odham Nation, authorities announced Monday.
Federal prosecutors said Miguel Angel Acatzihua-Temoxtle entered his plea last week in U.S. District Court in Tucson. Acatzihua-Temoxtle faced charges of assault on a federal officer resulting in bodily injury and assault on a federal officer with the use of a deadly or dangerous weapon.
The two agents were assigned to an operating base near Newfield on May 31, 2022 when they received information that several groups of undocumented immigrants were passing though the Baboquivari Mountain range.
Authorities said Acatzihua-Temoxtle fled by running up the side of a wash while kicking several large boulders above one of the agents to slow his pursuit. They said Acatzihua-Temoxtle used the agents’ flashlight and night vision goggles lanyard to assault them before he was arrested.
If he’s convicted, prosecutors said Acatzihua-Temoxtle could face a prison sentence of up to 20 years apiece for each assault plus a heavy fine.
Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
