By Steve Neavling
A Pennsylvania man charged with shooting at and trying to kill three FBI agents has been convicted of three counts of attempted murder of a federal officer with a deadly weapon and two firearms charges.
A jury found Rafael Vega-Rodriguez, 41, guilty on all five counts on Friday, the Justice Department said in a news release.
The encounter occurred in March 2020, when FBI agents were conducting surveillance and looking for Vega-Rodriguez in Reading, Pa. When agents spotted Vega-Rodriguez walking, they tried to stop him, but he drew a handgun from under his sweatshirt and shot at them.
Following an “intense” manhunt, Vega-Rodriguez was arrested about 30 miles southwest of Reading and was arrested by agents and Pennsylvania state troopers nearly two days later, prosecutors said.
“Rafael Vega-Rodriguez was so determined not to be arrested and go back to prison that he immediately opened fire on approaching FBI agents,” U.S. Attorney Romero said. “It’s incredibly fortunate that none of the agents, or anyone else for that matter, was hit. When Vega-Rodriguez pulled the trigger that night, he sealed his own fate, and now faces spending the rest of his life behind bars.”
Wayne A. Jacobs, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office, said he hopes the verdict sends “a clear message that if you commit an act of violence against a federal agent, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
