18-Year-Old Man Charged for Assaulting Border Patrol Agent

TUCSON, Ariz. – Alfredo Perez-Rodriguez, 18, of Mexico, was arrested by the United States Border Patrol last week for Assault on a Federal Officer with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon.

The government’s complaint alleges that on May 8, 2023, Border Patrol agents responded to a report of five undocumented non-citizens walking north in the San Pedro River area near the international border between the United States and Mexico. When the agents approached the group, they all fled on foot, including Perez-Rodriguez. After a brief pursuit, agents attempted to arrest Perez-Rodriguez, but he resisted and fought with the agent-victim. During the struggle, Perez-Rodriguez gained control of the agent-victim’s taser and pointed it at the agent-victim’s chest and face. The defendant continued to fight even after another agent arrived to assist the agent-victim, but was eventually taken into custody.

A conviction for Assault on a Federal Officer with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

A complaint is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Customs and Border Protection’s United States Border Patrol conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant United States Attorney Nathaniel J. Walters, District of Arizona, Tucson, is handling the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER:           23-00383MJ-1
RELEASE NUMBER:    2023-070_Perez-Rodriguez

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
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