By Steve Neavling
New details have emerged in the case against a suspected human smuggler accused of shooting a Border Patrol agent twice in the chest during a traffic stop in New Mexico.
The encounter occurred on New Mexico Highway 146 near Animas at about 11:30 a.m on Jan. 5, when the unidentified agent pulled over Roberto Esquivel for “unusual behavior.”
During the traffic stop, the agent asked five passengers inside the car where they were from, the Albuquerque Journal reports, citing a criminal complain filed in U.S. District Court.
The passengers responded that were from Mexico and in the country illegally. When the agent asked Esquivel to get out of the car, he opened the door but “suddenly” fired a handgun at the agent.
The agent sought cover and returned fire as Esquivel sped off, according to the complaint. That’s when he realized he had been shot while wearing a bulletproof vest.
Esquivel crashed his car a few miles down the road, and a gun was found more than 100 yards from where the car had flipped.
The migrants told agents they urged Esquivel to stop the car after the shooting, but he responded, “Shut up.”
The migrants were detained, and two were treated at a hospital in El Paso.
Esquivel later told agents he was transporting the migrants to Deming, and he hid the gun under his legs to conceal it from the agent, according to the complaint.
Esquivel said he fired at the agent because he “panicked.”
He told agents he was supposed to receive $300 over migrant after delivering them to Deming.
The agent sustained only minor injuries because of the bullet proof vest.
