Mario Garcia-Estrada, a 26-year-old from Hidalgo, Mexico, has been sentenced to 63 months in prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to two counts of assault on a federal officer. The sentence was handed down by United States District Judge Scott H. Rash.
The incident occurred on March 4, 2023, when Garcia-Estrada entered the United States illegally near Bisbee, Arizona. U.S. Border Patrol cameras detected his presence and dispatched an agent to investigate. After confirming that Garcia-Estrada was in the country without authorization, the agent arrested him and seized his phone and identification.
As the agent attempted to place Garcia-Estrada into her patrol vehicle, he pushed her to the ground and struck her multiple times in the face and head before fleeing on foot. A camera operator with U.S. Border Patrol tracked his movements and directed other agents to his location for arrest. The assaulted agent sustained a fractured nose and additional injuries as a result of the attack.
“The FBI Phoenix Division’s Sierra Vista office conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah B. Houston, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.”
Further details about this case can be found at http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/.
