By Steve Neavling
A jury convicted a 24-year-old undocumented immigrant of assaulting a Border Patrol agent during a traffic stop in Texas in October 2019.
During the two-day trial, prosecutors said Ludwin Artemio Santizo-Escobedo, a Guatemalan national, was in the country illegally and refused to be arrested after he was pulled over on State Highway 349 near Sanderson.
Santizo-Escobedo grabbed the agent’s baton and repeatedly beat him in the body and head. To subdue him, the agent shot Santizo-Escobedo in the left forearm and shoulder.
“This case illustrates the dangers the brave men and women of the United States Border Patrol face day in and day out while protecting our country,” U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff said in a news release. “Violent assaults on federal law enforcement cannot and will not be tolerated.”
The FBI investigated the assault.
“Every day Border Patrol Agents honorably serve our nation by securing the border. Too frequently, they endure physical assaults for carrying out their sworn duties,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs of the San Antonio Division said. “Thanks to the exemplary work of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and FBI agents assigned to the Del Rio Resident Agency Office (RA) and El Paso FBI/Midland RA, Santizo-Escobedo will be held accountable for his violent assault.”
Santizo-Escobedo faces up to 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on Feb. 10.
