Illegal alien sentenced for assaulting agent
An illegal alien faces a prison sentence of 12 years after being convicted of trying to shoot a Yuma Border Patrol agent with the agent's gun and of two other charges, the U.S. District Attorney's Office said in a news release.
Rafael Rivera-Alonzo, 34, had wrestled the service handgun from the agent's grip while struggling with him on July 15, 2006, the release said. But the agent managed to render the firearm inoperable, and the agent's partner arrived in time to help subdue Rivera-Alonzo before he could fire it.
The incident occurred after Rivera-Alonzo was seen crossing the border into San Luis, Ariz, from Mexico. The alien began fighting with the agent when the agent tried to arrest him for illegal entry, the release said.
Rivera-Alonzo was found guilty of assault on a Border Patrol agent in a jury trial in June in U.S. District Court in Phoenix. He pleaded guilty to a separate charge of illegal re-entry after deportation.
U.S. District Judge Stephen M. McNamee sentenced him Monday to 10 years for the assault charge and to a simultaneous seven-year sentence for illegal re-entry.
Rivera-Alonzo was sentenced to two additional years for committing those offenses while serving a term of federal supervised release. Those two years will be served consecutively with the other sentences, bringing his total to 12 years on all three charges.
